Beijing+Olympics+(Ms+Tyagi)

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//There is so much to learn about the amazing 2008 Beijing Olympics, let's get started!// media type="youtube" key="JsDY1Ha83M8" height="251" width="448"

**__Introduction:__ **

The Beijing 2008 Olympics was a big opportunity for Beijing. The cost of this huge international sporting event cost an estimated 20 billion dollars to put together. This included, new subway lines, airport terminal, a light railway, roads, and sporting venues such as the Olympic stadium (the birds nest) and the swimming pools. In order to make room for these changes about 1.5 million people were relocated. More than 400,000 volunteers were involved in preparing for the event. The city purchases 40 million flower pots and flowers to decorate the streets. To decrease pollution in the city over 1 million cars were taken off the streets and 200 factories were closed.

Have a look at some of the Beijing Olympic highlights, prepare to be amazed! __http://www.olympic.org/multimedia-player/all-video/2000-2009/2008/beijing-2008-highlights/?videoname=beijing&playertab=8__

__The stunning Olympic stadium- sometime referred to as 'The Bird's Nest'__

Here is a quick video about some of the build up to the Beijing Olympic Opening in 2008: __http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7549122.stm__

**__Technological:__**

//by: Samantha Clarke//

The Beijing Olympics, was a very high tech project. With all of the broadcasting and presenting of the Olympics over 10,000 PC's, 1,000 servers, 5,000 results systems terminals and 4,000 printers, all looked after by 4,000 IT some of which were volunteers. This massive project began in 2004 in preparation for the 2008 games. This one of a kind system was designed and built by Atos Origin, one of the worlds largest sport-tech IT company. It has worked with the Olympics since 2003 and is also part of the upcoming 2012 London Olympics.

For further reading, take a look! __http://www.silicon.com/technology/hardware/2008/05/08/the-tech-behind-the-beijing-2008-olympics-39214547/ __

The dream like start of the Opening ceremony included a high level of technologically advanced systems to propel the viewers back through Chinese history. The ceremony included things like space walking on wires, lights, projections and many other interesting, beautiful presentations all baked by a huge tech crew and lots of technology.

__The photo taken on July 29, 2008 shows the master control room of the Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co. Ltd (BOB) in the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) in Beijing, China.__

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">For this first time in Olympic history the opening ceremony was run by a “technical monitoring system.” This system was able to program and control all of the effects; lighting and the LED screen as well as recognize over 18000 performers using ID codes. The software organizing all of the acts was designed to “ensure a stable operation for the thousands of devices that were used to make the opening ceremony work and run smoothly. This device was the “Shenzhou 4000” the same equipment used in space missions.

**__Socio-Cultural:__**

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">//by: Jenny Kearney//

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Not only did the only Olympics make an impact on the globe, but it made a large difference to the local community it was held in! It brought employment to those who may have previously had a low income, as the games came with over 600,000 jobs to fill. As well, there are small benefits on the community which cannot be measured; bringing a sense of unity and national pride, local residents taking part in volunteering, inspiration for future generations, and have the facilities for years after the games have concluded. As cultural aspect the Beijing Olympics had on the residents of China was steps that were taken to overcome the national language barrier. Residents were eager to learn English in order to be able to communicate with all the foreigners that would soon be in their country. Below is a picture of local residents gathering in a park, learning to say simple phrases such as 'Welcome to Beijing' in English:



<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The government also took steps towards refurbishing the historic sites of China. The Forbidden City, one of Beijing's most famous landmarks, was under a renovation project for two years to restore it in time for Olympics.

[[image:http://www.forbiddencitychina.cn/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Forbidden-City-Corner-Tower.jpg width="400" height="250"]]Temple in the Forbidden City
A negative social implication that came with the beijing olympics is the space needed for the Olympic stadiums. As the Olympics were held right in the heart of Beijing, it is estimated that 1.5 million residents had to move in order for building to start. Not all the residents were happy with this, though, as some claimed the compensation money offered was not nearly enough for a new house. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">__**Economical:**__

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">//by: Charlotte De Fraye//

<span style="color: #141414; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The 2008 Olympics was one of the most expensive ever held, in total it cost $ 20 billion, including the cost for building stadiums, the Olympic Village, transportation and facilities. Although a huge amount of money was spend on the Olympics, they also had a great influence on its economic development. When Beijing was nominated as the next city hosting the Olympics in 2001, its economy already started to grow, andi <span style="color: #141414; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">n 2002, 2.5 percent wasalready added annually to economic growth.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">__https://www.chinabusinessreview.com/public/0807/sands.html__ The number of tourists and foreign visitors in Beijing had also rapidly risen, when China was found to be the host country. In 2007, Beijing had 3.8 million foreign visitor arrivals, which was 11.8 percent more than the foreign visitors in 2006. This did not only include tourists, but also people that had come to work on and plan everything relating to the Olympics. In the decade, following the games, the number of foreign tourists grew 8-9 percent because of the games themselves. This proves that the Olympics developed not just Beijing’s but other parts in china’s economy a lot. __[]__

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">During the games, the amount of hotels in the city increased from 545 to 800. These hotels all brought up a lot of money especially during the olympics, and they also gave a lot of jobs. The market growth was very positive and encouraging as well, even before the Olympics had started yet. The increase of marketing, tourism, trading all brought up a lot of money to not just Beijing's economy, but also other cities in China.The planning and making of the Olympics gave around 600 000 jobs, employing people with a low income. More jobs means a better economical development!

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">For more pictures go to:

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">__ http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/2008_olympics_opening_ceremony.html __



=<span style="color: #ffc200; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">__Environmental:__ =

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">//by: Eva Luna Yperman//

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">During the making of the Olympics, the process had suddenly impacted the city's environment. Drastic steps had to be taken to prevent the air quality from failing. The Beijing Olympics’ organisers had to put in process drastic measures to reduce the amount of pollution after the draconian steps had failed to prevent a grimy haze from smothering the city a few weeks before. Within less than a couple of weeks before the opening ceremony, the organisers had to speed up the process to ensure that the ‘Greying’ tag would come to meet its expectations. Meaning that the Beijing Olympics would ensure of a green Olympics and force endurance events such as the marathon, triathlon and 10km open-water swim to be postponed. According to the China Daily, factories and building sites may be temporarily closed if air quality interrupts the games being played in the Olympics. Due to the bad impact on air quality, caused by the building of the Olympic structures, Beijing is changing their environmental needs. Millions of coal-burning homes were converted into gas, more than 2000 buses and 5000 taxis were replaced with more environmentally friendly models and five new urban railways were added to the public transport. Environmental groups appreciated the change but then said it were unlikely to satisfy global expectations.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">"//Despite the efforts of the government, Beijing air quality probably is still not what the world is expecting from an Olympic city//," said Greenpeace campaign director Lo Sze Ping. "//The athletes will be breathing 150 litres of air per minute ... So for athletes this is a particular concern//."



<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">__ This is photo of the Olympic stadium situated in Beijing, seen behind the fountains along with the smog that is surrounding the building.__

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Here is the link to a video that explains Beijing's anti-smog plan in more detail: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">B <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">EIJINGAFTER THE OLYMPICS: After the Olympics, Beijing’s environment had changed and made a big difference to its environment before construction. Greenpeace director Lo Sze Ping was proud to say: “We are glad to see the achievements the city has made so far. It has made public transport more convenient, upgraded home heating methods, reduced, to some degree, its reliance on fossil fuel, and improved water treatment.”

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Greenpeace acclaims Beijing for: **

<span style="color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Using state-of-the-art renewable energy saving technologies in the Olympic Village

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Setting new vehicle emissions to the very stringent EURO IV standard ahead of schedule.

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Building five new subway lines to encourage public transportation

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Launching a fleet of 3,759 buses running on compressed natural gas.

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Helping 32 000 households to convert from coal heating systems to electric heating systems.

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Establishing the Guanting wind power station, Beijing's first wind power generation station capable of generating 100 million kWh of electricity a year.

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Improving its wastewater treatment plants, sewage and water reuse systems.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Though Greenpeace is disappointed that Beijing did not: **

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Make environmentally-friendly policies for the Games in the areas

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">of procurement and construction binding

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Apply water saving technologies across the city

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Pursue a zero-waste policy instead of building more landfill sites and incinerators.

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Introduce an internationally recognizable timber procurement

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">policy, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standard, for the

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">construction material used during the Games

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Eradicate climate-damaging HFC technology in some Olympic

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">facilities

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">• Make environmental data and certification of Olympic venues fully

<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0f0e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">transparent.



<span style="background-color: white; color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">For further information on their organization take a look at the Greenpeace website! Link below:

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="color: #23abd7; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">__Conclusion__

//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">By: Molly Kelly Lewis //

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">It is clear that the Beijing Olympics was an unforgettable event, with billions of dollars invested in it, and a legacy to uphold. Unfortunately, there were negative impacts of the Beijing Olympics, concerning the environment and economy in particular. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">However it has been recommended by the Digital Commons that in order to reduce the negative impacts of the Olympics on it's host country to reduce the size of the Olympics to help regain the focus on the Olympics towards its original purpose of athleticism. The idea would be to reduce the size of the Olympics to their core events so that the benefits would be worth the costs. On the other hand, the Beijing Olympics had numerous positive impacts on the environment, economy, socially and technology wise. Carbon Dioxide emissions were reduced, renewable energy use increased, and the quality of the air improved. The major boost in tourism had a significant economic impact, as did the increase in hotels, restaurant, shopping areas, transportation, all of which increased employment rates. The Olympics could not have went ahead without the amazing technology developed and used to broadcast, film, and share the Beijing Olympics with the world. The Olympics provided community benefits like local volunteerism, youth education programs, and funding for community developments and cultural programs. People came together from all over the world to experience the phenomenon that was the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and it's national and global impact will last for many years to come.

Here's a quick video about what London, the 2012 host of the Olympics, can learn from Beijing Olympics:

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Don't forget to check out this cool video reflecting on the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just for Fun!
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">After the Beijing Olympics took place, the Cube (where water sporting events took place) was transformed into a large waterpark for the public to use. To see more, follow the link:

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

Also, the Bird's Nest was transformed into an indoor winter wonderland in 2010! Check it out: []

__ We hope you had fun, see you next time! __

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