Thousands of volunteers are ready and waiting this month for
Beijing's rehearsals for the 2008 Olympic Games with new venues and
facilities finished.??
From August 15 to 20 the city will host the International
Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Junior
Championships at the newly-renovated Chaoyang Sports Park in
eastern Beijing. Although the site will not host Olympic
competition events, it'll be a training venue.
In western Beijing the International Softball Federation's (ISF)
11th Women's World Championships will be held between August 27 and
September 5 at the Fengtai Softball Field which is an Olympic venue
completed last June.
Featuring 44 events, the Junior Championships have attracted
approximately 2,000 athletes from more than 160 countries and
regions. This is the largest number of participants in the history
of the event.
"With the Olympics only two years away, more and more athletes
and officials will take this opportunity to become familiar with
the venues and atmosphere in Beijing since it will be held at
almost the same time of year as the 2008 Games," said Zhang
Jiandong, vice president of the organizing committee of the junior
event. "Through the organization of such high-level international
competitions we can discover problems and gain useful experience in
preparation for the 2008 Games."
A total of 1,200 local volunteers are prepared for the event
while hotels identified to provide accommodation for the athletes,
coaches, officials, journalists and suppliers are also ready. A
further 374 volunteers have been selected to help at the softball
championships.
Since Beijing's successful bid for the athletics championships
in late 2003 the Chaoyang Sports Park has been renovated to meet
international competition standards.
The central stadium can now hold 10,000 spectators and is
equipped with 100 suites for private groups. A closed-circuit
security system, fire control systems, broadband network services
and large-screen TVs have also been provided. To the west of the
stadium a grass football pitch can be used as a warm-up area.
The event will also serve as a testing ground for all aspects of
the organization of the Olympics including reception services,
safety and security, transportation, medical care, broadcasting,
volunteering and weather forecasting services.
According to officials from the junior championships organizing
committee, there'll be 15 special bus routes operating during the
event. Temporary traffic control measures will also be in
force.
On the other side of the city the Fengtai Softball Field is the
first of the 12 new Olympic venues which will be put into use.
Covering an area of about 15,570 square meters, the venue has two
competition areas and two training fields.
To meet the ISF and International Olympic Committee's standards
for competition venues and equipment, 34 environmentally friendly
technologies were used in the venue's construction and massive
building work is underway on access roads to ensure smooth public
access during the event.
Special bus services will be available to spectators instead of
huge amounts of space being devoted to parking lots for cars at the
site.
Led by top officials from the local government of Fengtai
District, the organizing committee for the championships has around
500 staff from security, media and transportation sectors.
"Every aspect of the preparations is designed to meet Olympic
standards," said Lu Shijie, deputy secretary-general of the event’s
organizing committee. "This will be our first opportunity to
impress the world about the 2008 Olympic Games and we’ll do our
best to make it a success."
The two events have also spurred on efforts to improve the look
of areas around the venues.
Since the end of last month the roadsides of Beijing's Chaoyang
District have been decorated with 1 million pots of flowers along
8.7 kilometers of roadway leading from the Workers' Stadium to the
competition venue.
Patterns composed of flowers include the 2008 Olympic emblem and
mascots and the world famous Five Rings. The most scenic areas are
at Workers' Stadium North Gate, Chaoyang Park Bridge, Chaoyang
Park's South Gate and in Chaoyang Sports Park.
Near the competition venue, a 1,000-meter-long wall has been
painted with 192 cartoons featuring sports. It was completed by 300
students from the Animation School of Communication University of
China and the Art Design School of Tsinghua University.
(China Daily August 4, 2006)