Beijing Welcomes Few

In a few hours, the XXIV Winter Olympic Games officially open in Beijing. 

I hope it is a great success, and suspect it will be on several fronts, though its high points will likely be drowned out by an array of tethered topics in the news.

One perplexing topic is Russia's president attending the Opening Ceremony at which his nation's athletes may only compete under the Olympic Committee (ROC) banner. 

Maybe if viewers look closely enough they'll see the testicles or spines of various IOC members (opting not to enforce doping-related bans nor acknowledge human rights issues during host nation selection) in the back pockets or VIP gift bags of Vladimir Putin and PRC President Xi Jinping. 

Of the two cities that presented final bids to the IOC, my vote was for Almaty. How cool it would have been -- very nice! -- to visit a new corner of the world, Kazakhstan. I'd like to think some of the recent protests in that nation preventable had the city been on its home stretch in Games preparation. 

I was also passionate about Munich's potential bid -- converted briefly from their failed 2018 quest -- regrettably withdrawn after close municipal votes showed lack of Bavarian public support due to soaring costs of hosting. 

Boo, Bavarians!

Even on the July 2015 day with Beijing secured the Games, my thought was, "Meh, potentially one Games to skip." Working and residing in China for a month in 2008 was enough for this lifetime, it then seemed.

But I started warming up to the 2022 Games after seeing some of the new venues, notably The Ice Ribbon speed skating oval (left) and the ski jump complex. It's also good to see the iconic Bird's Nest and Water Cube (now Ice Cube) getting more use as both structures are spectacular. The mascot Bing Dwen Dwen makes me smile, as did the abbreviated Olympic Torch Relay underway for just three days. 

It also made me grin to receive a Beijing Olympic media accreditation last month. Unfortunately, limited and over-priced seats on the small batches of international charter flights to China -- combined with my current client responsibilities and the nebulous complexities of the COVID clearances to get inside the Olympic bubble -- led me to stay put in Atlanta. Kudos and best wishes to the team from Keep The Flame Alive podcast for successfully navigating the system and making it to China!

Breathing easy without the stresses of travel, designing a new blog pin (at right) for this Olympiad proved relaxing and fun. 

And it's exciting to see several athletes getting their shot at Olympic glory. After her successful gold mining in PyeongChang, I enjoyed an opportunity to ask Mikaela Shiffrin her goals on her journey to Beijing. Can hardly wait to see her successes at her third Games. 

It will be fun to see what other surprises emerge from Beijing. Predictions: Sarah Brightman performs at the Opening or Closing (as in 2008); the final torchbearer will be a child (or group of kids) or a robot; and we'll all learn some new sports-centric vocabulary akin to "the twisties" of Tokyo. 

We can also look forward and continue counting the days to Milano-Cortina 2026!

Image credits: Beijing 2022's Instagram; AFP and EPA from this site.

"The Snakehead"

Driving home this evening, it hit me that this Saturday, 08-08-09 marks just one year since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony. Whew! What a year!

And during the drive home, on the NPR and WHYY program "Fresh Air With Terry Gross" (aired in Atlanta on WABE-FM) the program featured an interview with Patrick Radden Keefe, author of a new book titled "The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream."

The text is centered around an entrepreneurial woman who made millions smuggling people into the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s. My interest was piqued while listening, and will have to check it out soon.

Meanwhile, the AFP today ran an update on the Beijing Olympic venues and how they are being put to use (or not) in the 2008 Olympic city.

I think the one-year mark is premature to nickname the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium a "white elephant." It is going to take time to determine the right mix of events to host there, but eventually these decisions will be made and the stadium will be put to good use.

For comparison, look at the 1972 Munich Olympic stadium, the architectural wonder of its time (and of all time). This time next week, I aim to tour this 37 year old stadium, which now features a rooftop walking tour, a regular mix of sport and cultural events and other gatherings (in two weeks, Madonna will perform there -- perhaps she may add Beijing to the tour schedule).


Book image via www.patrickraddenkeefe.com.

Phelps Phans, part one

During the first few days of the Beijing Games, tickets were really, really tough to score. Everything was officially "sold out" and even Ebay had a scarce supply (and the few tickets there had hefty prices). Well in advance of heading to China, I did invest more than $150 to experience the women's beach volleyball gold medal game (an event my good friend, Brian, and I attended at Athens in 2004).

But as I mentioned in the post for Sunday, Aug. 10 (archived here with Annie Lennox's famed Eurhythmics photo), a special ticket source entered our Olympic world at just the right place and time.

Now that all is said and done, there's no longer a need to keep it a secret.

The ticket source we (and eventually many others) found was in Novotel (the hotel where I stayed the first three nights in Beijing -- across the street from our B.C. Canada Pavilion team corporate apartment/hotel, Lee Gardens). Co-Sport had a special office there, and for the first five or six days of the Games, few people seemed to know of its existence (which helped me help more than a few friends to get some primo tickets). A colleague told me a reporter friend from Canada was trying to help the family of an Olympian who had been scammed by the online ticket fraud that made headlines, and we helped that reporter to get some tickets in that family's deserving hands.

Tickets, tickets, tickets. If I had 20 hours a day to deal in tickets, I'd be a rich man about now. But we had many official duties to tend to that first week of the Games. So I limited my purchases only to friends in need, as well as to score a few cake seats at evening events inside the magnificent Water Cube. It was a morning ritual that first week -- get up, get coffee, get breakfast (at Novotel's Western food buffet, my saviour), then get tickets -- all by 8:45.

Who knew the special ticket source would come through when it mattered most?

They sure did.

The night of August 16, my colleague/roommate Paul, and newly arriving to Beijing friend Brian, and I each closed out the evening (and Paul's last night in China) with dinner and drinks. I think Paul's expectation for the following morning (Aug. 17) was that he would pack for the flight back to Canada at a leisurely pace, do some last minute shopping, and head to the airport.

Brian's plan for Aug. 17 included an attempt to hit a few late morning events, or something along those lines. Or hit the pin trading circuit. A calm morning.

My plan: Score a ticket (one ticket) for Michael Phelps' final race. The big race. Numero Ocho -- Lucky Race Eight.

On the morning of August 17, I was up at 5:30, showered, and first in line at Co-Sport's temporary office. I read a few newspapers, drank juice and canned Nescafe coffee, and cleaned up my FlipCam and digital camera files while patiently waiting for the office to open at 8:30 a.m. Made new friends of a couple of former California cops, the first duo to join me in line (they arrived at 7:30-ish). By 8 a.m., the line was several dozen people deep and out to the hotel lobby -- the word was definitely 'out there' on the recently unknown ticket source.

The early bird gets the worm. This early bird got one-two-three -- that's THREE -- tickets to Phelps 11 a.m. race!

I don't know whether the former cops got the other (last two) tickets I left behind, because in spite of my newly emptied wallet, I was beaming and flying out of that office to get to Paul and Brian with the good news!

Back at the apartment, Paul was speechless. So much for shopping.

Brian, by phone, I think was hyperventilating. So much for pin trading.

It was SO ... ON! We were going to see the GREATEST OLYMPIAN of ALL TIME swim in his final Beijing race!

We calmly and collectively agreed to meet in the lobby of Lee Gardens for a 9:30 a.m. taxi ride to the Olympic Green. We figured this gave us time to spare -- arrive at the Water Cube security entrance around 9:50 a.m., in advance of the 10 a.m. session start time (which we later learned included Dara Torres in her final race as well).

9:15 -- Nick completes post ticket purchase shower and shave. Check.
9:20 -- Paul completes packing. Check.
9:25 -- Brian arrives from morning walk from his hotel. Check.
9:28 -- Bellman hails taxi. Check.

We are Water Cube bound! No traffic! The sun is shining! It is our LUCKY DAY!

Even the Chinese-speaking taxi driver, upon learning of our destination and seeing our tickets, made a huge "LUCKY EIGHT" figure eight on the dashboard! He was beaming. We were beside ourselves at our good fortune.

And then the radio reminded us ... women's marathon ... just started ... route ends at Bird's Nest (next door to Water Cube) ... roads are ... OPEN! We were sailing toward our destination. Traffic never was so easy. We toasted our good fortune with a round of Nescafe canned coffee. TO THE WATER CUBE!

And with the Water Cube in sight, just one exit away from the 10-lane expressway, everything stopped. Well, at least every car -- including our taxi, ground to a halt.

To be continued ...

(PS: The photos with this particular post, and the video, are from Aug. 14 and Aug. 15 visits to The Cube -- Phelps photos and video to follow next post)

Blame Canada

"You're going to China on vacation, right?!" was the question posed by a colleague.

Reply, with smile: "Not exactly!"

As a part deux of work that began in Torino in 2006, for 30 days I'll be in Beijing for a client of Edelman public relations, home for the last nine-and-a-half years of my career. As in Italy's northern metropolis, while in Beijing my host (and media relations assignment) is with client The Province of British Columbia, and more specifically B.C. Canada Pavilion (be sure to watch the video!).

In Torino, the Province built the hugely successfuly B.C. Canada Place "log cabin" on an urban piazza not far from the Shroud of Turin (the lines at B.C.C.P. were affectionately nicknamed "The Crowd of Turin"). In the Chinese capitol, the Province took over part of a museum adjacent to Tiananmen Square, and I'll be spending time with many of the Canadian friends met in 2006, as well as colleagues/friends from Edelman Vancouver and Edelman Beijing. B.C.C.P in China is one of several Olympic clients for the firm, most of which are part of Edelman Sports (we're just one big happy Edelman Olympic Family with several folks bound for the Olympic City).

The B.C.C.P. setup is a bit different for the summer Games, but I'm sure we'll find time to fit in a game of street hockey, and hopefully host some of Canada's favorite sons and daughters (shaking hands with Alanis, Celine, Leonard, Avril or Alex would be very interesting, but impossible to top Tom Green's visit in '06 -- no, this was not my video, but his appearance on The Tonight Show from the B.C.C.P. was hilarious yet not available online).

Our mission is to tell plenty of B.C. Stories and get business, tourists and Olympic fans to experience all the Province will offers before, during and after the 2010 Winter Games.

No vacation, but definitely a pleasure to be back in the company of red & white-clad friends.