Introduction to the Olympics

The 29th summer Olympics will be celebrated from August 8 to August 24, 2008 in Beijing. Beijing Olympics emphasizes three concepts: Green Olympics, Hi-tech Olympics, and People’s Olympics, and selects “One World, One Dream” as slogan. It aims to achieve cultural communication and world peace by sports events joined by top athletes in the world regardless of race, language, and religion.

The mascots of 2008 Beijing Olympics are “Fuwa,” which means “good-luck dolls,” and each of them represents a color in the Olympic five circles and conveys different notions. Among the five “Fuwa,” the blue one is “Beibei” who is a carp to symbolize prosperity. The black one is “Jingjing” who is a panda to signify harmony between human and nature. The red one is “Huanhuan,” a flame to indicate the Olympic Torch which transmits passion in the world. The orange one is “Yingying,” a Tibetan Antelope to embody the spirit of Green Olympics. The green one is “Nini,” a swallow to bring people joy and peace. As the first syllables of each of the five words above are put together, you will hear the phrase “Beijing Huanying Ni,” which means “Welcome to Beijing.”

The torch relay of 2008 Beijing Olympics chooses “Journey of Harmony” as the theme, and “Light the Passion, Share the Dream” as the slogan. Lit in March 24th 2008 in Olympia, Greece, the torch will arrived in Beijing on March 31st and then left for 22 cities in the major five continents on April 1st. Expectedly, the torch will return to China on May 4th and eventually to Beijing on August 6th.

Altogether 302 events will be held in the Beijing Olympics; most of them will be held in Beijing, except for sailing in Qingdao, equestrian in Hong Kong, and football preliminaries in Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang, and Qinhuangdao.