|
|
Only six months has passed since the Beijing Olympics and the Birds Nest stadium which hosted the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies is already beginning to lose its shine. The paint is peeling and stains have appeared on its famous lattice design. Accelerating the deterioration of the iconic National Stadium is the absence of a permanent tenant. [...]
Posted on 11 February 2009 | 12:06 am
The Olympics are now over, but my adventures continue. You can continue following my travels in Asia here.
Posted on 17 October 2008 | 1:17 am
The opening ceremony for the Paralympics was held last night in Beijing. The ceremony was spectacular but perhaps not on the scale of the ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. Most of the show was performed by people with disabilities, including Li Yue, who lost her left leg in the Sichuan earthquake and performed [...]
Posted on 6 September 2008 | 7:44 pm
The Beijing Paralympics are just a day away from starting. Here are some pictures from Tiananmen Square which has some pretty impressive floral displays on show now.
Posted on 4 September 2008 | 8:59 pm
Posted on 4 September 2008 | 7:47 pm
The ticket scammers who defrauded people by selling non-existent tickets through the internet are getting ready for the Vancouver and London Olympics. “I was shocked by the brilliance and hard work of the thieves fleecing the Olympic family — and they are setting up to do the same thing in Vancouver in 2010 and London in [...]
Posted on 2 September 2008 | 8:23 pm
Beijing did a lot to improve the air quality leading up to the Beijing Olympics, with mixed results. The days before the opening ceremony were pretty bad, but a burst of rain cleared the air and pollution became less of a talking point. Almost straight after the closing ceremony the hazy skies returned. A [...]
Posted on 1 September 2008 | 3:56 am
Beijing recorded 6.52 million visitors for the 2008 Olympics, with 382,000 of those coming from overseas. Authorities long estimated that 500,000 foreigners would visit the city, but tougher visa controls reduced that number. The Xinhua news agency reported that tourist spots in the city reported total revenues of 162 million yuan (US$23 million), according to [...]
Posted on 31 August 2008 | 8:34 pm
To the athletes tonight: You were true role models. You have shown us the unifying power of sport. The Olympic spirit lives in the warm embrace of competitive rivals from nations in conflict. Keep that spirit alive when you return home. These were truly exceptional Games! (Source: Dr Jacques Rogge, Chairman of the International Olympic [...]
Posted on 24 August 2008 | 4:39 pm
The fireworks are still going on over Beijing tonight as the Olympics comes to a close. The closing ceremony wasn’t as long as the first one and not as spectacular, but still very well done. We had a short section to mark the handover of the Olympics from Beijing to London. London’s mayor [...]
Posted on 24 August 2008 | 7:16 am
Group A
Greece Vs South Korea Kick Off 20:30 Greek Time
South Korea may be hoping that the Greek football team drop the olympic torch on the way to the opening ceremony in the hope that there luck has finally run out. Greece have just come back from Portugal where they pulled of the sporting shock of the year by winning the european championships and defeating Portugal twice and France on the way. Greece have never got past the first round of this tournament though to be fair they have only entered twice the last time being in 1952. Greece have the player of Euro 2004 missing in Theodoros Zagorakis but do have the home support which often does well and did South Korea enough favours to get them to the World Cup 2002 semi finals unfotunately since the departure of Guus Hiddink they have not really performed to there potential again but with Real Sociedad's Lee Chun-soo up front they should be able to score a few goals this tournament.
Prediction
Greece 2 - 1 South Korea
Key Man
Amanatidis - Greece
The U-23 Greece team is NOT the same team that played at Euro - far from the experienced, veteran side that played team defense to win the championship. It appears that this was proven somewhat in their 2-2 draw Wednesday.
The Olympic tournament is also not a Euro or Copa tournament - here it's exuberant offense that often wins the day. A scan of past Olympic champions supports the theory that in this tournament, offense wins championships.
Greece will be lucky to advance out of Group play.
Posted by: Arylnn Poczynek at August 12, 2004 05:00 PM
