(ATR) Beijing is gearing up to mark 500 days to the 2008 Games with public sports events, the launch of new Olympic products, a webpage to recruit international "honorary visitors," and ratings for western food. More inside the Beijing Countdown. . .

A Bank of China branch with Olympic signage.  (B.Smith/ATR)

(ATR) Beijing is gearing up to mark 500 days to the 2008 Games with public sports events, the launch of new Olympic products, a webpage to recruit international "honorary visitors," and ratings for western food. More inside the Beijing Countdown. . .

Countdown Beijing: 500 Days to Go Looms Large

Thousands of residents are expected to take part in a long-distance walking event in Chaoyang Park on Sunday, two days before the 500-day mark on March 27.

Awards will be presented to some of Beijing''s first Olympic volunteers at a gala on March 26 at the 21st Century Theater. More events are expected the following evening, but BOCOG says it will only release details on March 27.

The new page for 2008 Honorary Website Visitors is at:

en.beijing2008.cn/03/39/honoraryvisitors.shtml.

Visitors who register on the site between now and August 8 will be allowed to leave messages and may get a chance to talk with BOCOG officials.

Among the products released to coincide with the 500-day mark are 11 types of badges, pins and similar souvenirs. Each is produced in a limited edition of 10,000.

Rarer and more expensive products include 2,008 spheres made of multiple badges ($88) and 10,000 one-ounce commemorative gold ingots ($1,137).

Hong Kong will also mark the 500-day countdown with an exhibition of 60 short-listed designs out of the 2,093 entries for the Olympic show jumping fences.

"Special law" to Run Games

The Beijing People''s Congress plans to adopt a special law that will give local authorities wider powers to ensure the smooth running of the 2008 Olympics, a legal official says.

"This temporary law will be due to take effect just during the Games," the Beijing Times quoted Zhang Yin, an official with legal department of the congress.

"It has covered almost every side of the Olympic Games concerning transportation, environmental protection and security affairs," Zhang said of the draft law.

Exact details of the law remained undecided and would be subject to approval by the congress, he said.

The draft will be circulated online for consultation and may be subject to a public hearing if there is sufficient interest.

"We will hold a hearing only if citizens have keen interest in this law," Zhang was quoted.

The law is likely to empower more than one million volunteers, security guards, uniformed and plain-clothes police, and paramilitary officers who are expected to maintain security and public order in Beijing during the Olympics.

Competition Schedule to be Finalized in August

The competition schedule for the 2008 Games is expected to be finalized in August and release

The Internet page promoting the honorary visitors program for Beijing.  (B.Smith/ATR)

d after IOC approval, BOCOG executive Vice President Yang Shu''an says.

"We have finished drafting the competition schedule by day and by session, and now are working on the schedule by sport," Yang told the government''s Xinhua news agency.

Yang admitted that meeting the different demands of broadcasters and sports federations made drafting the competition schedule a "difficult task," the agency said.

Ratings for Western Restaurants

Beijing will introduce a rating system for its 3,000-plus Western-style restaurants, bakeries, bars and cafes by the end of the year.

Most Western restaurants will get ratings between three stars and five stars based on standards devised by the Beijing Western Food Association.

The ratings will reflect the authenticity of the food, plus service, hygiene and management standards.

“This move aims to improve Beijing''s Western food services in a short period of time,” China Daily quoted Xu Bin, an association official.

“It is a wonderful opportunity that the 2008 Olympic Games has provided,” she said.

The association has sent chefs to the United States, Italy and France for training and it plans to have 10,000 chefs capable of cooking Western food by next year.

China Internet, Mobile Phone Rights for Beijing Olympics on Sale Now

Tenders are being accepted for what could be a trend-setting deal for the sale of rights to the Olympic Games. The IOC has set an April 18 deadline for proposals to carry the Beijing Olympics by Internet and mobile phone, separate from TV coverage.

Those rights belong to CCTV, which has the Games through its membership in the Asian Broadcasting Union, in a deal struck in 1998.

Quality of coverage will be one of the considerations says Timo Lumme, IOC Director of Television and Marketing.

“The tender process is designed to select media companies that can best serve the ideals and interests of the Olympic Movement and realize the potential of the exciting new media opportunities in China. We are looking for offers that develop the promotion and coverage of the Olympic Games, embrace new technologies and guarantee the widest possible audience in China for the Olympic Games across a variety of media platforms,” he says.

Latest estimates put the number of mobile phone users in China at more than 430 million. Internet users are said to number 132 million.

Indications of interest for the Chinese rights should be addressed to: newmedia_china@olympic.org.

Reported by Bill Smith in Beijing
bill@aroundtherings.com

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