Countdown Beijing: Olympics Float for Parade of Roses, Olympic Village Caterer, Torch Relay Invite from Taipei

The Beijing mascots, known as fuwa, will ride on a Rose Parade float January 1 in Pasadena. (ATR)

Olympic Float for Rose Bowl Parade Gets Non-Sponsor Support

A float for the Beijing 2008 Games will join the famous January 1 Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, California.

Co-sponsoring the float are the Avery Dennison Corporation and the Roundtable of Southern California Chinese-American Organizations, both non-sponsors of Beijing 2008 or the U.S. Olympic Committee, which polices Olympic trademark use in the U.S.

While the float will feature the Beijing 2008 logo and mascots, no Avery Dennison logos will appear on the float, Avery Denison spokeswoman Barbara Casey tells Around the Rings. Casey says designers are working in full awareness of Olympic branding rules.

She says the company’s goal is to build goodwill in China and do something positive for employee morale.

The float from BOCOG is the first ever entry from the People’s Republic of China in the 119-year history of the parade.

The announcement came on May 21 at a ceremony attended by BOCOG Director of Media and Communications Wang Hui and president and CEO of Avery Dennison Dean A. Scarborough.

Avery Dennison, based in Pasadena, site of the Rose Bowl Parade, is “a global leader in pressure-sensitive technology, self-adhesive base materials and self-adhesive consumer and office products,” says the company on its website.

Taipei Opposition Favors Torch Visit

The Kuomintang Party will work with Beijing to bring the Olympic torch to Taipei, if they win the next election in March.

“We will try as hard as we can to let it come here,” Chang Jung-Kung, head of the KMT’s China affairs department tells Taipei media.

Earlier in May, the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party rejected Beijing’s torch route, arguing that it classifies Taipei as a domestic, rather than an international, city.

The timing will be difficult. The election is in March, the president’s inauguration is in May, and the torch will be traveling through the area in April.

Beijing Signs Veteran Caterer

Aramark wins a contract to prepare and serve food at their 14th Olympic Games. The company will operate kitchens and The lighthouse at the sailing venue for the 2008 Games in Qingdao. (ATR)dining rooms at the Olympic Village, Media Village, the Main Press Center and the International Broadcasting Center.

For the 2008 Games, Philadelphia-based Aramark has partnered with Beijing Capital Tourism, a Chinese tour and hotel operator.

Aramark catered its first Games in Mexico City in 1968.

Paralympic Pictograms Revealed

Beijing organizers have released the pictograms to represent the twenty sports on the 2008 Paralympic schedule.

The designs come from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and are destined for use on road signs, at venues and in broadcasts and marketing.

Like the Olympic pictograms, these designs take inspiration from archaic Chinese scripts.

The release was timed to coincide with Help the Disabled Day,Pictographs for the Beijing Paralympics. fixed on the third Sunday in May.

War on Pests in China’s Olympic Cities

Public health officials in Beijing are intensifying efforts to rid Olympic cities of disease-carrying animals.

Modern pest-eradication training is underway for more than 160 health workers from Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao.

In their sights are creatures that can pass diseases to humans: rats, mosquitoes, blackbeetles, lice and fleas.

The training also includes rapid-response training for potential public health emergencies.

The National Committee for the Patriotic Public Health Campaign, under the national Health Ministry, is conducting the classes.

The 2003 SARS epidemic originated in China, most likely due to human consumption of the wild civet cat.

Japan not to Boycott over Darfur

Japan will not consider a boycott of the 2008 Olympics amid criticism of China’s alliance with Sudan.

“It is important for not only China but the whole world to make efforts to improve such human rights conditions. At the same time, I believe sports and politics should be considered separately,” says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Beijing to Pick Pins, Costumes in Public Design Contest

Beijing is calling for design proposals for a set of Olympic pins and the costumes to be worn by medal presenters.

Members of the public may submit pin designs that incorporate Olympic sports and Chinese culture. Coca-Cola is sponsoring the contest and designs are due on June 30.

Beijing is also looking for costumes for the medal bearers, flag bearers and escorts who will handle podium ceremonies. Submissions are due on June 25.