Tens of thousands of Beijing residents took to bicycle on Tiananmen Square on Saturday February 24 in a mass competition that expressed their support for the capital city's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

On the last of a four-day tour by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluation commission, more than 10,000 cyclists who sported Olympic colors and attached a banner bearing "I Do My Part" to each of their vehicles took part in the rally setting off from Tiananmen Square, the political and cultural center of Beijing.

The enthusiastic cyclists passed along Chang'an Avenue and headed for the Worker's Stadium, where they submitted an album full of their signatures to the Beijing Olympic bid committee. The Worker's Stadium is one of the proposed venues for the 2008 Games.

The mass activity marked the latest efforts of Beijing Olympic bidders to bring the world sports biggest event to the world most populous country for the first time.

(People's Daily 02/25/2001)