Testing the Waters
Top swimmers will inaugurate the new National Aquatics Center with a six-day tournament beginning on Jan. 31. The Good Luck Beijing 2008 Swimming China Open will be followed by an International Swimming Federation World Cup event from Feb. 19 to 25.
Training is underway at the Water Cube for the first test event. (Getty Images)The venue and the first two test events are a Lunar New Year gift from the builders, organizers and athletes to the Chinese people, says Li Aiqing, president of the Beijing State-owned Assets Management Company, the company that delivered the venue.
The company is also planning to launch Water Cube-branded water that will be collected from glaciers in Canada. Bottles will be priced between $1.25 and $1.50.
Bird's Nest Deaths Confirmed By Beijing
A Chinese official has confirmed that six workers have died during venue construction for Beijing Olympics over the last five years.
A report in The Sunday Times of London earlier this month claimed there had been a cover-up over the accidental deaths of at least 10 workers since construction began in 2003 on the $400-million facility, nicknamed Bird's Nest. A photo of the National Stadium's newly installed seats offers a glimpse inside the venue. (China Foto Press)
Ding Zhenkuan, deputy chief of Beijing's Municipal Bureau of Work Safety, initially told a Beijing news conference this week that no deaths had taken place at the 91,000-seat National Stadium.
Ding said that on behalf of the organizers, he wanted to “make it clear that there was no such case that 10 people died on the Bird's Nest.”
In clarifying that statement, Ding had said “The figure is not accurate”.
“In the Bird's Nest there were two incidents, one in 2006 and one is in 2007. The deaths of two people are true. ... We have punished the related personnel,” he added.
After the news conference, he detailed four construction worker injuries, one requiring hospitalization while the other three did not.
The Sunday Times had claimed Chinese authorities covered up the Birds Nest deaths and doled out large payments to guarantee the silence of fellow workers who witnessed the accidents.
Construction Bill Verges On $2 billion
The construction of the venues for the 2008 Olympic Games has cost less than $1.8 billion, China state media report.
“We always encouraged frugality in the build-up to the Games,” Beijing vice mayor Chen Gang is quoted as telling a media briefing, by official news agency Xinhua.
He says the cost of the ‘Birds Nest’ National Stadium, was no more than $486 million and the central and local governments have contributed half of the cost with the remainder coming from other investors and donations.
For the Beijing Games, 31 venues are needed for competitions and 45 for training. To date, 22 have been used in test events.
Tibet Campaign to Boycott Beijing Features Prince Charles
Prince Charles’ office has confirmed the Prince of Wales has declined to attend the Beijing Olympics.
The move has The Prince of Wales does not generally attend the Games, according to a spokeswoman from Clarence House. (Getty Images) been celebrated by free Tibet campaigners but branded as “unfair” by Games organizers.
The Prince of Wales revealed his Olympic decision in a letter to the Free Tibet Campaign. His deputy private secretary, Clive Alderton, wrote in the letter that Charles would not attend the opening ceremony. Charles had not received an official invitation to the Games, but British media report that the Chinese ambassador in London was attempting to court the Prince.
The Free Tibet Campaign has declined to release a copy of the letter but says Alderton noted the Prince of Wales’ “close interest in Tibet” before adding that the prince would not be attending the opening ceremony, without stating any reason.
A spokeswoman for the Prince's office, Clarence House, confirmed the prince would not be attending the Olympics.
A BOCOG spokeswoman, Wang Hui, told a news conference in Beijing that any decision to boycott the Beijing Olympics is unfair.
“We haven't heard that Prince Charles will boycott or will not participate in the Beijing Olympics,” she said.
“We consider any boycotts of the Olympic Games to be unfair. The Olympics is a harmonious, competitive and beneficial sports event as well as a significant festival for all the people in the world."
A spokesman for the Free Tibet Campaign welcomed the “principled decision” of Prince Charles called on other public figures and politicians to “follow suit”.
Both Princess Anne, who is president of the British Olympic Association, and Prince Edward are likely to go to Beijing.
Beijing Briefs….
The government of Hong Kong and the territory's Olympic committee have launched a torch relay website with news on community activities and the torch relay route. The torch will be carried by 120 bearers among Hong Kong landmarks and the Olympic equestrian venue at Sha Tin Racecourse. The relay takes place on May 2.
The director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation says he is confident of a safe Olympic Games. Robert Mueller was in Beijing for a conference with his Chinese colleagues on Games security. "I am very much impressed by the preparations that have been made to accomplish that and I fully anticipate the Olympics will be secure and safe," said Mueller. The FBI placed a liaison agent in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in 2002. The FBI began international Olympic security consultations ahead of the 2004 Olympics, after having worked on previous domestic Games.
After some five years of preparations, Beijing meteorologists are in a better position to help out with the Games, says Wang Jianjie of the Beijing Meterological Bureau. The Bureau is now collecting more data from Beijing venues, as well as using mobile observatories equipped with video teleconferencing equipment.Beijing Games partner adidas this week released the 2008 Olympics soccer ball, which reads "China". (Getty Images)BOCOG has lined up an advisory a team from the bureau to help out with weather and emergency response advice. And the Bureau is optimistic about its efforts to disperse rain clouds. "We conducted scientific experiments in 2006 to mitigate rain, and we found the results useful for lesser rainfalls in a small area," says Wang.
BOCOG’s offices will be closed from Feb. 6 to 12 as China celebrates the Lunar New Year.
With reporting from Anthony Stavrinos in Sydney.
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