Summer Olympics News

I have to admit to ignorance here. I always assumed that the Olympics events were pretty set. I wasn’t aware there was room for adding or subtracting, except when it was a big deal that a new sport was introduced. Apparently, though, I was wrong.

In any case, China has finalized the events for the 2008 Olympics. There will be 302 events in 28 sports. The number of female events is up 127, compared to the 125 female events at the Athens’ Games. The new events being added are the women’s 3,000-metre steeplechase, men’s and women’s BMX, women’s foil and sabre team events, men’s and women’s marathon swimming 10 km events, and the replacement of the doubles events in table tennis by team events.

Sandstorms and pollution could provide yellow or grey skies for he 2008 Beijing Olympics. Althought sandstorms tend to peak in the spring, is it still possible that the 2008 Olympics could see spectators wearing surgical masks to facilitate breathing. Beijing officials say they are taking steps to insure that the air quality will be acceptable, but how much control do they have over this?

Yes, that Jackie Chan. I knew he did his own stunts. But I had no idea the Honk Kong film star sang. I guess that remains to be seen. But he will be recording a pop song to promote the Beijing Olympics.

Will E.T. phone home at the 2008 Beijing Olympics? It’s possible. Steven Spielberg and Chinese director Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers) have signed on to direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Zhang will serve as the chief director, while Spielberg will serve as artistic advisor. Australian Richard Birch, who directed the highly praised opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Yves Pepin, president of French company ECA2, will also be advisers.

We’re pretty sure we’re going to have an intern, our former German exchange student who now studies East Asian studies at university, in Beijing this summer checking out the preparations. So, if there’s something you’re particularly interested in— let us know. We’ll have her check it out.

China wants Taiwan to be part of the torch relay. Taiwan wants to be part of the torch relay. So, what’s the problem. Taiwan wants to be part of the international torch relay. China wants to include them as part of the domestic torch relay. This is just one of many political struggles China will have determining the path of the Olympic torch when the torch relay leads up to the 2008 summer Olympics.