...Sports Architecture in Modern China A comparison between 2008 Olympic venues and 1990 Asian Games venues Introduction Hosting the 2008 Olympic Games is monumental in Chinese history, almost a century ago, Chinese scholars dreamed of the Olympics being staged in China, which marks sovereignty and power of the country in a global view. Therefore, when the long time expectation is about to become real, the primary goal for Chinese government and citizens is to show the best part of China to the world. This paper focuses on what and how the Chinese have done in order to accomplish the mission of hosting a successful game. A number of Olympic architectures are reviewed in terms of their locations, the cultural meanings behind as well as their unique characteristics. At the meantime, in this paper I try to compare Olympic venues with their counterparts built for the Beijing 1990 Asian Games, due to their close relations, which I will further explain in the later session of this paper. I. Location of 2008 Olympics and 1990 Asian Games venues An international comprehensive sports game usually consists of a main stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies are held, and a village that multi-functions as accommodation, gymnasium, catering, etc. to athletes, trainers and officials, as well as other venues where various sessions of a game are hosted. To Beijing 2008 Olympiad, the location of the above buildings is extremely important, due to the unprecedented...
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...How Beijing Olympic Games affects Hong Kong students’ national Identity? Beijing Olympic Games had been successfully held in 2008, it is the first Olympic Games take place in China. In this essay, I am going to see how the Olympic Game affects Hong Kong residents’ national identity before, during, and after the Games and the level affected. Before the Game Before the Games, Something has been done to enhance Hong Kong students’ national identity. For example, the Olympic Torch Relay in Hong Kong. Through watching live on TV or on-the-spot, or even participating in the magnificent Torch Relay, it may arise national glory, thus enhance national identity. The government also played an important role in improving national identity. In educational aspect, Education Bureau (EDB), through moral and civic education, encourage schools to promote Olympic education activities, and these activities became part of “Hong Kong Schools Welcoming Olympics series” (香港學界迎奧運 系列). EDB promote exploring topics about Olympic games and equestrian events. EDB also organized territory-wide learning activities，such as「京港同心．弘揚奧運 精神」Essay contest、「教育與奧運同行，培養國民身份認同」Olympic education program design competition, and large celebration such as「迎奧運．賀國慶」and the 100 day countdown to the Olympic etc., to arose students’ awareness of the Olympic Games and the equestrian event. The Olympic education enhances students’ sense of national...
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...Image of China after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Abstract Mega events have intrigued the academia because of the huge impact they have on the host countries. Not only do mega events catalyse urban regeneration, they also have the ability to command international media’s attention. Furthermore, nations have been known to use mega events such as the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, and World Fair to rebuild image and draw in tourists to serve the economic development of the region. While the Olympics are one of the most studied mega events, most of them emphasise on the Western perspective probably because only three out of twenty-six Summer Games have been held in Asia. The most recent one is the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which is the focus of this research. In particular, this study aims to explore China’s image change after the event and the influencing factors that contribute to the change. One’s perception and image change are emotional and subjective; therefore, this research can gain a better insight through qualitative approach. Twenty participants from sixteen countries were recruited and interviewed for 20-30 minutes regarding the Beijing Olympics and related news around that time. The findings showed that China achieved moderate success in rebuilding its image in the economic and technological aspects. Many interviewees were impressed by its organising ability and modernisation. However, China failed to change its image through the Olympics when human rights violations...
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...Beijing is dying; Many are crying By Jacob von Bisterfeld (China Daily) Updated: 2005-04-25 09:23 Many would have thought that lessons had been learnt after the wholesale destruction of old Beijing in the latter part of last century, when imperial waterways were filled in, many historic buildings and even the old Beijing City Wall were demolished to make way for Russian-style monstrosities and Goliath edifices that impressed at the time. A model of China's national Olympic stadium, nicknamed "bird's nest". [newsphoto] With the 2008 Olympic Games approaching, the Beijing government, naturally, wants to project their best image as not only will hordes of representatives of every country flock to the city in 2008 but television stations worldwide will focus on it before, during and after the month of the games. So every amenity is now being upgraded. New buildings to house the various sporting activities, to entertain and overawe the world, rolled off the world's most famous architectural drawing boards with monotonous regularity and many architects and design firms were falling over each other to present ever more startling designs. It has come to pass that most of the buildings that have been approved or are in the building phase would be a picture perfect fit in Boston or Berlin. The new CCTV center is designed as a 230-metre-tall structure, which comprise two inverted L-shaped towers joined high above the ground. [sina/file photo] But is...
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...public relations firm to work on the 2008 Beijing Olympics? Public relation is the department or function responsible for evaluating public opinion about, and attitudes toward, the organization and its product or brand. Public relation is one four variables in the promotion mix. The basic tools of public relation include news, newsletters, press conference, and other company facilities. Public relations can be considered in a similar vein as the marketing of a product. Products can only enjoy continued success if its performance is satisfactory, as the image of the product cannot be maintained if product performance is inconsistent. Similarly public relations cannot be more effective than the corporate behavior behind it. Public relations involves more than corporate communications. China had experienced bad publicity ahead of the Olympics where Beijing's image was seriously battered by widely publicized protests especially in London, Paris and San Francisco, disrupting the Beijing Olympic torch relay. Also, Chinese embassies and consulates in several cities were also damaged because of protests by pro-Tibet groups and others capitalizing on the publicity of summer Games. Therefore, China decided that it would be a better idea to hire foreign Public Relation firms to handle the publicity issues of the games. “Several British and US agencies were invited to interviews with Chinese officials to discuss a contract, which includes pre-games PR strategies, media training and market...
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...on the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be discussed, along with reasons why protesters and activists target events such as the Olympics, and weather the opportunity to reach a global audience by advertising during the Olympics can offset the potential for bad publicity, and finally I will assess how well of a job the companies identified in this case did in anticipating and responding to the protests. Reasons why the Chinese government hires a western public relations firm. Recently the body of knowledge of public relations has grown significantly and public relations continue to evolve as a strong discipline. China had experienced bad publicity ahead of the Olympics where; Beijing's image was seriously battered by widely publicized protests especially in London, Paris and San Francisco, disrupting the Beijing Olympic torch relay. Also, Chinese embassies and consulates in several cities were also damaged because of protests by pro-Tibet groups and others capitalizing on the publicity of summer Games. Therefore, China decided that it would be a better idea to hire foreign Public Relation firms to handle the publicity issues of the games. “Several British and US agencies were invited to interviews with Chinese officials to discuss a contract, which includes pre-games PR strategies, media training and market research on western perceptions of China” (AFP, 2008). Finally China decided to hire US Weber Shandwick and British Bell Pottinger as the major PR firms of the 2008 Beijing...
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...be thought as a pride for the host country to hold the Olympic Games, the consideration whether the cost of the Olympic Games outweighs the actual benefits brought to the host country is becoming increasingly more common among the public throughout the world. This essay is going to discuss about the cost and benefits that the host country may obtain by holding the Olympic Games. The negative influence caused by the Olympics may include the enormous financial cost and the passive social impact, while the host country is provided an opportunity to build up country status as well as to help the city renewal. First of all, the Olympics cost the host country an enormous amount of money to hold the game, which may then lead to...
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...無疑，影響奧運會的各政治因素肯定會對奧運會火炬接力產生影響。試想，火炬接力作為奧運會舉辦前的最為重要的一種儀式，各個利益集團難道不虎視眈眈？也就這樣的機會是不會放過的，總會對接力路線產生影響。多一個國家參與就能夠提高舉辦國家的國際威望，火炬接力路線的距離和經過的國家，也越來越長和越來越多。奧運會火炬1936 年柏林奧運會第一次傳遞，是經過9 個國家。到了2008 年北京奧運會（如圖2）已經是行經世界五大洲國家和地區的22 個城市，歷時130 天，傳遞總裡程約13.7 萬公裡。 有人合作，也會有人抵制。比如，1952 年赫爾辛基奧運會火炬接力路線，原計劃從奧林匹亞山沿直線到芬蘭的赫爾辛基。但是，中間要從愛沙尼亞經過，這遭到了前蘇聯的拒絕——前蘇聯不願意在1952 年將還沒有完全“蘇化”的愛沙尼亞展示給世界。所以，奧運會火炬接力路線只得繞道長途跋涉，繞大彎經北極圈進入芬蘭。再如，2008 年北京奧運會，原計劃火炬接力路線要經過中國台灣。可是，台灣台獨分子以所謂“矮化”為由，提出從“第三國”進入台北市的無理要求，單方改變火炬赴台。這樣，北京奧運會火炬接力路線也只得改道而行。所以，政治因素影響著奧運會火炬路線的選擇。 3.2 經濟因素 現在，許多國家和城市都想盡各種各樣的辦法，積極審辦奧運會。因為，舉辦一次奧運會，能夠給這個國家或城市帶來相當可觀的經濟利益。其實，在前國際奧委會主席薩馬蘭齊上任前，舉辦奧運會的資金問題讓奧運會難堪得很。薩馬蘭齊將商業化引進來以後，奧運會的面目就完全改觀了。奧運會火炬接力同樣也就與“商”共舞了。如圖2，三星、可口可樂等國際著名公司，通過奧運會火炬接力中的展示車，來宣傳自己，擴大與廣大客戶的交流，進而贏得客戶，贏得收益。 很有必要說說1984 年洛杉磯奧運會，彼得.尤伯羅斯，這個聰明的商人，將每一棒的火炬接力售價1000 美元，想參加火炬接力者只要拿出1000 美元就可以跑1000 米。這次火炬接力彼得.尤伯羅斯售得3000 萬美元。也就是這次，使奧運會有了贏利的開始。據悉，北京2008 年奧運會火炬接力全球合作伙伴是可口可樂（中國）有限公司、三星電子有限公司和聯想（北京）有限公司。三家全球合作伙伴將為北京奧運會火炬接力的順利進行提供資金支持和服務保障。全球合作伙伴是北京奧運會火炬接力贊助計劃最高級的贊助企業，享有北京奧組委授予的一系列與火炬接力相關的市場權益。 3.3 科技因素 “科學技術是第一生產力。”由於科技的不斷發展，奧運會火炬接力路線的時間、空間範圍發生著重大變化。如今，奧運會火炬簡直就可以“無孔不入”，可以“上九天攬月、下四海捉鱉”。 1976 年蒙特利爾奧運會，火種到達雅典後，東道主用高科技，只花半秒鐘時間，用激光傳至太空中的人造衛星，再反射到加拿大首都握太華，然後才進行了短距離的傳遞。這次，雖然有了高科技，但由於沒有體現人文性，受到了人們的非議。2000 年悉尼奧運，火炬在水下度過了一段美好的時光，如圖4，在６月２７日奧運火炬傳遞接力活動中，請潛水愛好者、海洋生物學家鄧肯將奧運火炬潛入水中。在大堡礁地帶水下前行３～４ 分鐘。 奧運火炬是用高新煙火技術制作而成，且燃燒溫度達到了２０００度，所以能在水下３米處繼續保持燃燒，而不會被海水淹滅，這是悉尼奧運火炬第一次在水下傳遞。 2008 年北京奧運會，火炬將登上地球之顛——珠穆朗瑪峰——屆時，火炬手、工作人員可以及媒體記者不僅在珠峰火炬接力路線上打手機、發短信，還可以在8844.43 米的頂峰發彩信上網。可想而知，沒有相當的科學技術是很難征服世界第一高峰的。以上可以看出，科技因素使火炬接力路線的傳遞時間範圍和空間範圍發生重大變化。 ...
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...the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be discussed, along with reasons why protesters and activists target events such as the Olympics, and weather the opportunity to reach a global audience by advertising during the Olympics can offset the potential for bad publicity, and finally I will assess how well of a job the companies identified in this case did in anticipating and responding to the protests. Reasons why the Chinese government hires a western public relations firm. Recently the body of knowledge of public relations has grown significantly and public relations continue to evolve as a strong discipline. China had experienced bad publicity ahead of the Olympics where; Beijing's image was seriously battered by widely publicized protests especially in London, Paris and San Francisco, disrupting the Beijing Olympic torch relay. Also, Chinese embassies and consulates in several cities were also damaged because of protests by pro-Tibet groups and others capitalizing on the publicity of summer Games. Therefore, China decided that it would be a better idea to hire foreign Public Relation firms to handle the publicity issues of the games. “Several British and US agencies were invited to interviews with Chinese officials to discuss a contract, which includes pre-games PR strategies, media training and market research on western perceptions of China” (AFP, 2008). Finally China decided to hire US Weber Shandwick and British Bell Pottinger as the major PR firms of the 2008 Beijing games...
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...achieves the vision of London 2012 Olympics as Everybody’s Games. It is incongruent to suppose maximum revenue and maximum attendance can both be achieved and therefore the critical problem is developing a strategy that affords the appropriate balance of emphasis to revenue or attendance. Previous host countries have had varying levels of success with their strategy and due to the unique context of the London 2012 games past approaches do not provide a definitive solution. This report utilises (model) to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the two propositions, evaluate the options for each and provide a recommended sales and marketing approach. Ultimately, the analysis identifies an attendance focused strategy will more likely achieve the vision and have longer term social benefits and revenue potential. 2 Introduction This report focuses on the responsibility of the Head of Ticketing, London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), to establish a sales and marketing strategy for the 7.9 million tickets available at the London 2012 Olympics. With the support of 70% of people in the UK, London’s Olympic bid was founded on three key aspects; firstly, the opportunity to socially and economically revitalise the disadvantaged area of East London; secondly, creating the first 100% public transport facilitated games, and ultimately, recognition of the London 2012 games as inclusive, fair and equitable - Everybody’s Games. Historically, delivering a marketing...
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...Western public relations firm to work on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Chinese government felt it was necessary to hire a Western public relations firm for the 2008 Beijing Olympics in an effort to create a positive country image. Creating this positive image also included reducing human rights concerns that were being addressed by groups such as Darfur and Tibet. The public image of China could have negatively influenced international consumers’ attitudes and purchasing intentions for certain products and brands. The issues unfolding in China were going to be put under a microscope and magnified as media attention shifted to China because of the Olympics. The hot button issues called for more skilled and experienced public relations firms. Many believed that China did not deserve to host the 2008 Olympics. Lee (2010) wrote that supporters of World Peace advocated that China is contrary to the Olympic ideal, because there is no respect for individualism, the rule of law, or human rights and there is still evidence of summary executions taking place. China needed to change this image. The use of a well-received Olympic image would help to enhance and homogenize the perception of China on the international stage (Lee, 2010). The presented a great opportunity for China to show the current state of economic, cultural, social, and political development in China. Protests in Tibet and growing protests along the route of the Olympic Torch Relay caused the Chinese government to...
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...WHAT ARE THE ISSUES OF WORLDWIDE EVENTS ON A COUNTRY ? The exemple of Brazil with the World Cup and the Olympic Games Globalization Seminar – September 2014 GROUPE 36 - PARIS Maxime BEURRIER, Lauriane CORBIN, Aurore GUILLON, Yuan GUO, Benjamin FERRE It is used to say that "the surfer is wonderful when he is standing up on his board". Brazil is one of these surfers since the early 90s. Expected to become a major world power, the country has moreover the opportunity to shine in front of the world by organizing successively world wild events in less than five years. It had never been given to a country the opportunity to receive such big events, especially in such a short period: the World Youth Day (WYD), the Confederations Cup, the Football World Cup in 2014 and finally the Olympic Games in 2016. After China, who organizes Beijing Olympics games in 2008, Brazil is now pursuing his prodigious road on the top of the wave. The organisation of these worldwide events is a great opportunity to consolidate its influence in the world but also the risk of eventually falling off from his surfing-board, into the water. After the competition among several countries in order to obtain the right to host these events, each slightest actions of the winner are scrutinized by the whole world. Today, the occurrence of events involving all the nations of the world highlights the globalization characteristics. Indeed, for one summer, many countries meet around a single place, a single goal,...
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...major sporting events in recent years. In 2007, The Economist predicted that Li Ning was going to become one of China’s new global brands on the back of the 2008 Beijing Olympicsi. However, LNCL has failed to take-off and in 2012, year of the London Olympics, it suffered a 15 per cent fall in profits and significant losses across most of the group’s business divisionsii. LNCL, takes its name from the company’s Chairman Li Ning, a triple gold medal winning Olympic gymnast, who founded the sports goods company in 1989iii. He is the man who high-wired around the Beijing Olympic stadium, to light the flame at the 2008 opening ceremony. The Company has several divisions, the Li Ning brand (above), which specialises in sports shoes and apparel for its five key sports: Basketball, tennis, running, football and fitness. Other divisions include Double Happiness, (table tennis), Kason (badminton) and joint ventures with Aigle a French outdoor sports brand and Lotto an Italian Football brand. Li Ning retail outlets also have an agreement to sell Kappa sportswear. LNCL has a manufacturing base near Beijing and a registered office in the Cayman Islands. Since 2004 it has been listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange Despite lots of noise about international expansion in China’s Olympic year and in the years between the Beijing and London Olympics; the 2012 company results show that it retains a very...
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...International Federation of Equestrian Sports (FEI) President Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan emphasised that Foster's disqualification was not the result of any suspected cheating. "I do want to be very clear with you all that there is absolutely no accusation of malpractice here," the former show jumper told a news conference held to discuss the decision. "As a former competitor, I just totally empathise with what Tiffany is going through ... It's absolutely crushing for her to experience this in her first Olympics." Foster shook with sobs throughout the briefing, comforted by visibly angry team captain and defending individual Olympic champion Eric Lamaze. "I just want to say that I would never do anything to jeopardise the welfare of my horse and what happened today was obviously very disappointing and devastating to me," Foster said in a broken voice. "I feel really bad for my team and really disappointed that this is the way my first Olympic Games are going to end." Lamaze, whose gold medal horse Hickstead collapsed and died at a World Cup event in Verona last year, said it was time to take a hard look at the FEI's rules on hypersensitivity. "This is a complete miscarriage of justice," he said, adding that...
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...the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be discussed, along with reasons why protesters and activists target events such as the Olympics, and weather the opportunity to reach a global audience by advertising during the Olympics can offset the potential for bad publicity, and finally I will assess how well of a job the companies identified in this case did in anticipating and responding to the protests. Reasons why the Chinese government hires a western public relations firm. Recently the body of knowledge of public relations has grown significantly and public relations continue to evolve as a strong discipline. China had experienced bad publicity ahead of the Olympics where; Beijing's image was seriously battered by widely publicized protests especially in London, Paris and San Francisco, disrupting the Beijing Olympic torch relay. Also, Chinese embassies and consulates in several cities were also damaged because of protests by pro-Tibet groups and others capitalizing on the publicity of summer Games. Therefore, China decided that it would be a better idea to hire foreign Public Relation firms to handle the publicity issues of the games. “Several British and US agencies were invited to interviews with Chinese officials to discuss a contract, which includes pre-games PR strategies, media training and market research on western perceptions of China” (AFP, 2008). Finally China decided to hire US Weber Shandwick and British Bell Pottinger as the major PR firms of the 2008 Beijing games...
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