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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
The closing ceremony has gotten under away. The introduction was interesting, perhaps people will say it is a little “North Korean’esque”. The athletes are entering the stadium and I can only imagine the thrill it must be to be able to walk into the stadium at the end of the games. [...]
Posted on 24 August 2008 | 5:32 am
"The matches are shorter and the balls bigger. Such rule changes could have little effect on the Chinese, who have dominated Olympic table tennis and hope to increase their gold medal haul in Athens. However, a surprising Austrian, Werner Schlager, could emerge as a winner in the men's singles.
China had strong showings in Atlanta and Sydney, with all-Chinese finals in the four doubles events.
That won't be repeated in Athens. Doubles teams from one country must play in the same half of the draw, eliminating the chance of gold and silver medals for China in a doubles event this time.
Other rule changes since the Sydney Games include a direct knockout system instead of group play in which a loss does not eliminate a player; a reduction from 21-point to 11-point games; a changed service rule, and a best-of-seven instead of a best-of-five match.
There's also the matter of a bigger ball, increasing in diameter from 1 1/2 inches to nearly 1 3/5 inches."
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