Special report: 2008 Olympic Games
BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Beijing Olympic
official said here Saturday that the city's accommodation is ready to receive
guests and tourists during the Games.
Xiang Ping, deputy director of the Games Services
Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games
(BOCOG),told journalists that 17,000 athletes and delegation officials will live
in the Olympic Village, and about 35,000 accredited people, such as officials,
sponsors and media staff will stay in the contracted hotels and media villages.
Among the 119 hotels which have signed contracts with
the BOCOG,42 are five-star hotels with 12,800 rooms, 44 four-star hotels with
about 10,000 rooms, and 33 three-star hotels or lower with about 6,000 rooms.
Although all athletes are expected to live in the
Olympic Village, the Dream 8 Team, the United States men's national basketball
team, choose to stay in the Inter-Continental Hotel on the Financial Street.
"There are indeed many sports big-shots choosing
accommodation places themselves. For instance, the Inter-Continental Hotel
signed a contract with the United States Olympic Committee at an earlier time
for serving as the accommodation for the Dream 8 team," said Xiang at a press
conference held in the Main Press Center.
Security departments have taken measures to ensure
the safety of the hotel in line with the request from the U.S. Olympic
Committee.
"Generally speaking, we hope all athletes can live in
the Olympic Village, as the Village provides free food and accommodation,
considerate services and fine entertainment facilities. The Village is also a
platform for athletes from all over the world to communicate with each other,"
Xiang said.
"But we also respect the options on accommodation
made by some sports teams," she added. "And we require the Olympic committees of
different countries and regions to take responsibilities of the behavior of
their athletes who live outside the Olympic Village."
At the same press conference, Xiong Yumei, deputy
director of Beijing Tourism Administration, predicted that there would be
400,000 to 450,000 tourists coming to Beijing from other countries and other
parts of China during the Games.
"Beijing's hotels have adequate capacity to receive
the tourists," Xiong said.
Beijing subway to have 1,300
volunteers every day during Olympics
BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Almost 20,000
volunteers, including goperating company staff and university students, will be
at Beijing subway stations to keep order and assist passengers during the
Olympics and Paralympics.
There will be about 1,300 volunteers working every day at 123 stations
along the eight existing subway lines. Full story
Olympics a week away, Beijing's pulse
speeds up
BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The pulse of China's capital is speeding up
with the city's hosting of the Olympic Games only seven days away.
As many noticed, the invitations have been sent, venues were ready and the
host was experiencing an accelerated pulse with the mixture of excitement and
strain. Full story
Official: Work for Beijing Olympic
competitions ready
BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- A Beijing Olympics
official said Friday that all preparatory work is ready for Olympic
competitions.
"Five days to go, the first competition event of the Games
will begin. All the staff and volunteers in charge of competitive events are
well prepared to provide a fair and just platform for the athletes," said Zhang
Jilong, director of Sports Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the
29th Olympic Games (BOCOG). Full Story
China may expand industry, traffic
control for cleaner air during Olympics
BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Beijing and the neighboring
areas may impose stricter measures to curb industrial and vehicle emissions in
case of serious air pollution during the Olympics, according to China's
environmental watchdog. Full story
China opens Beijing-Tianjin railway
one week ahead of Olympics
BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Two official ceremonies were
held respectively in Beijing and Olympic co-host city Tianjin on Friday to mark
the opening of the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway, a week before the Games
begin. Full story
