Beijing Olympics 2008

Qingdao City in east China is “full of confidence” in hosting a successful sailing competition of the 29th Olympic Games in August, Mayor Xia Geng said Sunday.
The seaside city in Shandong Province has prepared first-class venues, tight security measures, and rapid and convenient transport for the Aug. 9-23 event, the mayor said.
Xia also dismissed worries about food safety.
“We have launched a special project to ensure Olympic food safety since 2004,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliament.
“No problem has been found about food safety during two Olympic test events held here in 2006 and 2007,” he said.
Qingdao, with clean air and beautiful scenery, is expected to attract 200,000 visitors when the sailing event is held.

from: xinhuanet.com 

The organizers of the volunteer program for the sailing events of the Beijing Olympics launched a project to recruit 10,000 “social volunteers” in Qingdao on Sunday.
The social volunteers will join Games-time volunteers and city operation volunteers in serving the sailing events to be held from August 9 to 21, 2008, the Qingdao Daily reported.
Qingdao residents who were born before June 30, 1994, and are healthy and able to take part in training activities, a pre-Games service every month and full services during the Games, can apply to join the volunteer contingent. Those who want to be assigned to special posts or offer translation services, need to have the required skills.
After recruitment ends, the signboards of six service posts such as queuing maintenance, translation, traffic order, environmental protection, information service and special service, will be erected in the city’s important public places, bus stations, transport hubs, major sidewalks and tourist spots.

from: beijing2008.cn 

Water quality in Qingdao will meet the standard for the Olympic sailing event, a report issued by China’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said on Tuesday.
At the Olympic sailing venue in eastern Shandong Province, the water quality was excellent for about 30 percent of the days monitored in August and fairly good for the rest, the report said.
The bacteria rate in the water was also below the national and international level, it added.
The 2008 Olympic Games will open on Aug. 8 and run to Aug. 24.
Six “red tides“, or algal blooms, were monitored in the coastal areas of Qingdao from 2004 to 2007. Only one, however, happened in August and it was non-toxic, the report said.
The SOA and Qingdao government have conducted environmental monitoring at the sailing venue since 2004, said Jiang Chongbo, an SOA official.
Qingdao’s light wind conditions had raised concern among athletes, but organizers said at a press conference last week that the coastal city was absolutely capable of providing adequate racing conditions.
Qingdao Vice Mayor Zang Aimin said that judging from the last two years’ test events and the meteorologic data for the past 30 years, the city’s wind conditions could meet the standards to hold Olympic sailing competitions.
“Though the city’s wind conditions are far from perfect, we are confident that the Olympic sailing events can proceed without a hitch,” she said.

from: xinhuanet.com