Beijing started the image-building process for the city's 2008
Summer Olympic Games by holding a colossal Olympic design
conference yesterday. The two-day conference also marked the start
of a design competition for an emblem for the
2008 Games.
"We are going to let the world share the charms of the Beijing
Games through an outstanding designing job," said Liu Qi, Beijing
mayor and president of the Beijing
Olympic Games Organizing Committee.
Almost all the top designers in the nation and several foreign
counterparts attended the conference at the Beijing International
Convention Center.
Foreign Olympic designing magnates from past and coming Summer and
Winter Olympic Games including 1994 Lillehammer, 1996 Atlanta, 2000
Sydney, 2002 Salt Lake City, 2004 Athens and 2006 Torino delivered
multi-media presentations. The presentations were based on previous
or ongoing Olympic experiences, in the hope they could give the
Beijing team some moral support.
Liu said he believes something unique and drenched with Oriental
intelligence can be created with inspiration from China's
5,000-year heritage. "My wish is for you to give your best to
impress the world," Liu said to the designers, many of whom had
signed up for the emblem competition.
Government officials, International Olympic Committee (IOC) members
and experts, IOC sponsors, public relations and media
representatives also attended the meeting.
Liu said he expected heated competition. "The heated competition
will stimulate the participating designers to give it their
best.
"I
would love to see something created that will be 'loved at first
sight,' " said Liu, while displaying a sample emblem in the shape
of a Chinese knot with an image of a person doing shadow boxing.
The sample was used during the bid-phase.
Foreign Olympic experts, however, suggested that Beijingers should
be patient and learn to accept the new design, which may prove too
abstract to be favored at first sight.
"In the beginning, many did not like the emblem for the Athens
Games, and now they love it," said Petter Moshus, former design
director for the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games and one of the
judges of the competition. "I think the committee has set the
standard very high, but everybody has a chance."
The competition to design two major Olympic venues - the Olympic
Green, which includes the Olympic and athletes villages, and the
Wukesong Sports and Cultural Center - finished one stage when the
Beijing Municipal City Planning Commission ended the collection of
design draft plans yesterday.
The commission received 55 plans for the Olympic Green, which
included 23 from abroad and regions like Hong Kong and Taiwan, and
10 designed by cross-nation collaborations.
Another 34 drafts are for the Wukesong Center, with 12 coming from
overseas and five produced by cross-nation collaborations.
The design competitions opened in April and more than 180
individuals and companies delivered proposals from April 2 to April
15.
The preliminary selection is scheduled for July 10. A 13-member
judging panel will vote for eight prize-winning plans for the
Olympic Green and five for the Wukesong Center.
The final decision will be made on July 14.
After the competition, an exhibit of all draft plans will be held
in the Beijing International Convention Center from July 16 to 26
to allow citizens to select their personal favorites.
(China
Daily July 3, 2002)