Beijing blog
Reflection
So I'm back in the UK and I've had a little time to reflect on my Beijing experience.
The 2008 Beijing Games put the spotlight on China and its people in a really big way; everyone was watching to see what it could do. Ok, so the media coverage wasn't always positive but when you think about the Games itself no one can dispute it wasn't an overwhelming success.
The new Olympic Park and its facilities have transformed Beijing. It's exciting to think about what our Games will do for the East End and for Hertfordshire.
The impact alone on tourism is staggering. Some 3.5 million Chinese visitors and 450,000 people from overseas came for the Games. Visits to the Forbidden City rose from around 25,000 per day to 50,000. Without a doubt Hertfordshire will benefit from increased visits to our glorious county and our Olympic venue in Broxbourne. And this will of course benefit businesses and will have a very positive impact on our economy.
The 70,000 volunteers in Beijing did a brilliant job. They were professional and hospitable and clearly enjoyed their important role. I'm sure that Hertfordshire's volunteers will meet their high standards.
For the spectators lucky enough to be at the Olympic venues, the atmosphere was electric. National pride was clearly evident and I can't wait for this to be recreated in our country in 2012 – only wow, will we feel that pride all the more.
The outstanding achievements of Team GB made the Beijing Games truly special. Even people who 'aren't into sport' got behind their country and felt immensely proud of our British Olympians. Now the world will be looking to what Team GB can achieve as host nation in 2012.
For me the highlights of my trip were:
- The first visit to the Birds Nest Stadium
- Seeing Christine Ohuruogu win her gold medal
- Being surrounded by Olympians - queuing with Matthew Pinsent and sitting close to Ian Thorpe
- The sights – The Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven.
I've had an experience of a lifetime in Beijing and millions of words in thousands of books can never replace actually being at an Olympic Games.
We are now host city, nation and county and the legacy is ours to deliver. I have seen the future and it can be gold for Team Hertfordshire because we have the commitment to achieve it.
Bye, bye Beijing
As I took my last stroll in Beijing downtown it struck me, (almost literally) that you do somewhat take your life in your hands when travelling around. The multitudes of taxis and buses have no apparent road rules. They pull out at will, go at breakneck speed and the constant tooting of the horn is a matter of course. There are pedestrian crossings, however proceed at peril, as they are always ignored, and so anarchy replaces order.
My gauntlet took me to the Beijing 2012 store, which is packed with people - a good sign that the credit crunch hasn't hit here. For a high-tech society it has a very complicated ordering and payment system. You point to the item you want, they then write your request on paper in triplicate and this is handed back to you. I wanted four items and ended up with four triplicate sets of paper. You then take these to a central paying point where the total is calculated and one piece of paper taken from each set. Then the receipt for each set was stamped and glued onto one copy and then eight pieces of paper were returned to me. Then I returned four copies elsewhere to get my goods! It was a little like the marathon really and took just about as much time to complete.
After this experience I returned to my hotel to watch some more of the Athletics on television with Lord Moynihan, Chairman of the British Olympic Association. I was just in time to see Bolt's 200m world record and for Natasha Danvers to get that unexpected bronze medal.
China has been a tremendous host and Beijing is a fascinating city but for me what's made it perhaps the most special Olympic Games is the remarkable spirit and astonishing success of Team GB.
So as the Brits ride high I fly high back to the UK. I wonder how quickly I can get home to watch just a little more of the Games…
A silk tie bribe
When I was checking my emails the following morning the room cleaner arrived with a rather fierce looking woman in tow. She pointed to the desk and said 'you fill in form' which was a customer satisfaction survey. They both proceeded to stand over me while I completed it and as it was four pages long it took quite a while. Every entry I made was greeted with muttered comments between the two of them. It is quite disconcerting to be scrutinised so closely, rather like an examiner watching over as you nervously do your best to answer the questions.
For the cleaner the most important question came near the end, which asked for the name of any member of staff who had provided good service. At this point she indicated her name badge and that of her colleague.
I went out later and on my return to the hotel found a box on my bed. In it was a silk tie celebrating the history of the silk trade in China. Coincidence or special reward for my efforts? I will never know…
Proud to be British
This is my last day with any events to attend and unless I go 'scalping' (the American expression I discover for ticket touting) that will be it for me.
On the subject of 'scalping' there are signs everywhere which say it is forbidden and warnings of dire consequences but this is ignored and tickets are touted. Of course the gamble is whether these tickets are real or fake and you'll never know until your ticket is scanned at the entrance.
Yesterday was the longest day yet, up early to go through my e-mails and then onto the morning Athletics. As the morning session closed I met my contact Rosemary who introduced me to the British Virgin Islands team - President John Lewis, Chef de Mission Dag Samuels and Team Manager Dean Greenaway. We went to the Omega hospitality building, which is really plush, and everything is free so long as you have the magic key - a National Olympic Committee pass.
From what I could gather the benefits you get here are according to your status in a one to three tier system. 'One' being a President of a major nation, and this comes with a chauffeur driven car and a host assistant, plus tickets to any event and option to take guests.
Anyway, we had a good meeting and we will stay in touch so who knows where that will lead.
From there I went to the Olympic Village. It has its own bank, post office and shopping centre. Everywhere you see Olympians walking about, being interviewed and relaxing on the grass. The teams are housed in blocks of flats destined to be sold privately after the Games are over.
I got to the Australian office where I met Laurie who had been to 11 Olympic Games as a volunteer and he knew most other team managers. We talked about the possibilities of hosting for the Canoe Slalom and agreed to stay in touch.
Being in the Village with thousands of the world's best athletes was a real highlight for me.
When I arrived back at my hotel hot and sweaty I had a few minutes to regroup my things before heading back to the Stadium for the evening's events. And what an evening it was with a totally unexpected silver in the high jump and that fantastic run by Christine Ohuruogu in the 400m. At 250m you would have thought her out of the medals but her timing was superb and as they came down the final straight she moved smoothly through to win convincingly. I was in the Brits section and we went wild, much to the amusement of people from other countries around us. Christine came round to our stand draped in the Union Jack and we all sang our hearts out when the National Anthem was played. I felt truly proud to be British.
A Great day from start to finish
The days here always bring the unexpected and today was no different. I had booked to see the Great Wall of China thinking it would be possible to network and pay a visit to one of the great wonders of the world at the same time.
But turning up at reception there was no one there except a young guy with my name on a piece of paper. He introduced himself as David, my guide, so I obediently followed him to a waiting car and asked 'are you taking me to the coach' to which he replied 'no you are the only one on the trip today.' This was the start of a real educational experience and if visitors could experience this sort of treatment in London in 2012 they would certainly return to the UK.
But before the Wall, some interesting facts about China gleaned from my day with David. Beijing is even bigger than I thought. It has 17 million residents. An average monthly salary is 3,000 Yuan, (about 12 to the pound). The cost of an apartment is between 7,000 - 15,000 Yuan per square metre depending how close you are to the city centre. Petrol is 6.5 Yuan a litre.
China has 56 ethnic groups and if you saw the Opening Ceremony you may have noticed the Chinese celebrating their diversity.
So, on to the Wall and throughout the journey our driver enjoyed sounding the horn, which he did to anyone who got in his way, but it did get us there very quickly. The entrance was lined with people selling everything you could possibly imagine and each seller was determined you would buy their goods.
The climb to the Wall is up half a mile of steps. What you've seen on TV doesn't prepare you for the scale of the project which begun 500 years ago in the Ming dynasty to keep out the Mongols. In the end it stretched over 6000km although today access is restricted.
Then back down and I return to Beijing for a bit of lunch. I had to sit on my own as the guide and driver felt they couldn't sit with me – I had used my deodorant that day, I promise!
I then visited the Temple of Heaven, a beautiful structure in 270 hectares and claiming to be the largest architectural site in the world. Here the Emperors visited twice a year to pray to the Jade God to bring good harvests. It was here that I found out why the Olympic Stadium and the other main venues were built where they are. It is the central north-south axis, which passes through the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Bell and Drum Tower and the Tower of Heaven.
I then accepted an invite to the Beijing Hilton for the Lane 4 reception, which is Adrian Moorhouse's company. I was able to speak to Sharon Davies about the Hertfordshire is Ready for Winners Partnership and tried to secure her support for our legacy work. She is keen to support what we are doing so we shall see.
I missed a meal to watch the repeats of Team GB's great successes in the medals and I even met the family of Rebecca Romero, returning with a glow after her success in the Velodrome.
And what about that 100M final won by a mile by Usain Bolt who was celebrating before he finished the race and yet still managed to get a record? What more can these Games bring? I can't wait to find out!
Monday 18 August 2008
Fingers crossed for the Olympic Village
My hotel is the base for SportsWorld, the main organiser for the trips here. Every day cars draw up with National Olympic Committee members from many countries.
What China has in great supply is people and that's very evident in the hotel. From the moment you step out of your car and walk onto the first step of the building there is someone to get the door for you. When you leave there is someone to get your taxi or see you onto your coach. Talk about a welcome!
Breakfast is amazing and I know I keep saying it but nothing is too much trouble. I have already been told not to expect the same when I return home!
Everywhere is decked out with posters and Beijing 2008 bunting, there's great coverage of the Games and we're kept up to date with Team GB's progress in the medal table. Who could ask for anything more?
I used the subway at 12.30pm last night. It's clean, quick and efficient and also free if you have a venue ticket. At least 95% of the people using the subway are Chinese so you definitely stick out as 'the tourist'.
As I missed lunch today moving between the rowing (what fantastic results!) and the Birds Nest I needed something to eat. I bought two chocolate bars, two small boxes of crackers, one packet of crisps, a fizzy drink a bottle of water, which came to about £2.50. Now what would that cost at Wembley?
This afternoon I tried something different. I went to the Water Polo, which at another £2.50 was hardly expensive. Never having watched it before it was fascinating to see those who supported it and the rules of play. It can get brutal with lots of whistle blowing and sending off for those who go too far - thoroughly entertaining.
More Athletics tonight before my last full day of events. I hope my contacts will get me a visit to the Olympic Village so I can promote Hertfordshire but we shall see.
Sunday 17 August 2008
Rain stops play
As you sleep soundly in your beds I wake to a sunny day in Beijing and recall the events or rather 'non-events' of yesterday. And what a day it was!
An early phone call informed me if I quickly made my way to the Birds Nest Stadium I could ride in an official car to the Canoe Slalom event. So I did just that and arrived at the west entrance of the Stadium.
It was mayhem at the entrance to the 90,000-seat Stadium; coaches, taxis and buses were arriving constantly and there are so many security personnel here.
Thousands of people were making their way through this entrance all at once so I decided to take an apparently less busy entrance and was promptly stopped by two policemen who waved over an English speaking Chinese official to tell me it was in fact the exit.
I was moved on and returned to the busy entrance where I joined my travelling companion, (our Nations and Regions East Chairman) under an ever-darkening sky. Dark clouds hovered, thunder rolled and the drops of rain began as we waited for the promised official car. At last it appeared and we got in, by now fully soaked through.
You honestly never want a journey like the hour-long journey we had in the official car. As the roads disappeared in rivers of rain our escort took it upon himself to immerse us in history, origins of names and everything remotely Chinese. It would have been really interesting but for the delivery being at world record 100m pace with no gaps for air.
We finally arrived at the Canoe Slalom and it is fantastic. However, water, metal and lightning do not make for good companions so the events were cancelled and having spent 2 hours getting there, by now sodden, we made our way back to the car. Clearly our escort's earlier efforts in educating us had been excessive as he succumbed to sleep, which allowed me to work on the Blackberry for the journey.
We arrived somewhat bedraggled at the Ambassador's residence where we joined the East Region information stand. The place was packed with representatives from nearly 100 National Olympic Committees who visited our stand, spoke to me and took our literature about Hertfordshire's pre-Games training camps for London 2012. Seb Coe, Tessa Jowell, Jonathan Edwards, Darren Campbell, Steve Backley and many others were also there.
That evening I bumped into the massive, and I mean MASSIVE figure of rower Matthew Pinsett. I've only ever seen him on TV before but in the flesh I can understand how he got those gold medals.
Back to today and I have another visit to the Ambassador's residence to sell our tourism and business offer to the Chinese and then in the evening I go to the Olympic Stadium for the opening of the athletics.
John Fuller
Hertfordshire Manager for the 2012 Games
Friday 15 August 2008
An Olympic legend and a Royal in one night!
Beijing is vast and although it doesn't have the New York skyline, compared to London, and indeed Hertfordshire, its buildings are massive. The city is crammed full with people yet the streets and roads are immaculate.
In every taxi they have a guide to Beijing, printed in Chinese and English, so that you can show the driver the location you want to get to. Quite simple, but it definitely works, the Beijing Games' organisers have thought about every tiny detail. The guide also shows you 'useful' phrases in Chinese to point out to the driver, but not speaking the Chinese language, how would I understand the reply anyway - perhaps they haven't thought of everything!
Nothing prepared me for my first proper look around the Olympic Park and I got such a buzz from seeing the Birds Nest Stadium, it really is a fantastic piece of architecture designed by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron.
Last night our hosts arranged a fantastic meal at one of Beijing's hotspots and to my excitement I was seated close to Aussie swimming legend Ian Thorpe. It was a lovely meal but I was there to work and I spoke to lots of National Olympic Committee members from various countries - one representative was from Tonga's Royal family.
I'm really excited to see Beijing's Canoe Slalom Course especially after UK Canoeist David Florence took silver - hopefully we'll see him at the Canoe Slalom in Broxbourne in 2012.
I look forward to telling you about some of the Olympic events I'll be seeing over the next few days.
John Fuller
Hertfordshire Manager for the 2012 Games
Thursday 14 August 2008
What an amazing city
Today the jet lag really hit me and I woke at 2.00am. I treated myself by watching some of the Games on the television then tried to get a little more sleep.
My first full day in Beijing has brought some real surprises. Unexpectedly I had an opportunity to visit the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. They are both immense places. The Forbidden City took 1 million people 14 years to build. What an extraordinary change of pace when you compare that to the Olympic Park build.
Tiananmen Square is said to be the largest city square in the world at 500m x 880m, with Chairman Mao firmly placed in the middle. It's covered with Olympic bunting and amazing flower arrangements; it's truly a sight to behold.
Then I got the chance to visit Team GB's lodge where the athletes meet their families and celebrate or commiserate, depending on how they've done in their event. Strictly no photos unfortunately but it was great to be where our Olympians come to relax.
Just across the road I had my first view of the Birds Nest Stadium and the rest of the Olympic Park. You can see the Olympic flame burning brightly although the day returned to its usual misty humidity, and wow is it hot!
Tonight I have an invitation from what I hope may be a possible Pre Games Training Camp connection. Tomorrow is the official launch of what Hertfordshire has to offer Olympic and Paralympic teams in terms of training facilities for the London 2012 Games. We can't wait to show off our fabulous county. This will be at the Ambassador's residence, and opened by Tessa Jowell, Seb Coe and Colin Moynihan. Watch this space!
Can you spot the Hertfordshire Stag in the photo?
John Fuller
Herts Manager for the 2012 Games
Wednesday 13 August 2008
I've arrived!
My first blog entry comes from the seventh floor of my hotel, looking out over Beijing.
I boarded the plane late Monday evening and from Heathrow it was a 10-hour flight. Beijing's sparkling new airport seems to stretch for miles. As we landed the sun was shining and I can confirm there was no 'mist'.
Our hotel is decked out with flags and I've just seen on one of the many big screens Hertfordshire badminton star Gail Emms go through in the mixed doubles after a nail biting climax with the Chinese team.
I look forward to telling you more tomorrow after I've explored the streets of Beijing, its metro and the Bird's Nest Stadium.
John Fuller
Herts Manager for the 2012 Games
Tuesday 12 August 2008
