Dreams on screen

The shooting of the official documentary film about the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Dream Making 2008, wrapped up last week and will premiere by the end of next month.

Since 2001, the filmmakers have been recording all of Beijing's preparations ahead of hosting the Olympic Games.

With the construction of the National Stadium forming the main storyline, the film tells the tale of five groups of ordinary people, including a family that had to move house to make way for the stadium, a hurdler, three gymnasts and a group of police officers.

According to director Gu Jun, the documentary is now in post production and has almost been fully edited.

China Daily

For the record

DV fans may have a new channel to share their self-made films with others. A DV contest organized by the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Radio and Television and Beijing Film and TV Artists Association, is collecting Olympic-themed DV works from both professional videographers and DV production amateurs in China and abroad.

Using their own digital videos, candidates may record ordinary people's cultural activities linked to the Olympics from unique angles.

All films will be showed on television or online. Netizens will help to decide the final winners by voting for their preferred works. Excellent videos will enter the 2008 Olympic Games Video Data Base as an invaluable heritage of the Olympic Games.

China Daily

Sex plate change

Beijing is working to standardize all signs indicating male and female toilets ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, according to Beijing Youth Daily.

The plates, which are already in use in some places, feature white male and female characters on a blue background, the paper said, quoting officials with Beijing's city government.

Beijing has 5,174 public toilets, more than New York, London or Tokyo. It is now the world's No 1 metropolis in terms of public toilets per capita.

Xinhua

Athletes psyched about new site

Chinese athletes and coaches who are preparing for the Beijing Olympic Games could relieve their tension and anxiety by surfing on www.sportpsych.cn, the recently opened website that provides "psychological services" and is organized by China's State General Administration of Sport.

All athletes in China's national teams have been issued with a card featuring a user ID and password so they can use the site.

"The Olympic Games is a case of 'psychological warfare' to some extent. Offering a platform for athletes and coaches preparing for the Beijng Games, we hope they can face and solve psychological problems, and enhance their combat effectiveness", said Zhang Zhongqiu, who is in charge of the website.

The website is designed as an intranet, meaning that the information on it is strictly confidential and cannot be viewed by the general public.

Chengdu Evening News

COC gets image makeover

A plan for how to market sport in China after the Olympic Games was formulated last week together with a new logo.

The 2009-12 marketing plan for the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) includes sponsoring programs for the Chinese delegation to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, the 2012 London Summer Games, and 11 more international sports tournaments.

With the experience learned from the Beijing 2008 Olympic marketing plan, the COC's plan clarifies its brand concept, thus offering a more effective stage for future sponsoring enterprises.

China Daily

Model nurses

Beijing will send 3,200 model nurses to the 31 Beijing Olympic venues to provide emergency medical services for athletes during the Games.

They will be picked from among the city's 60,000 nurses, said Wang Liming, of the Beijing Municipal Federation of Trade Unions.

"They must be proficient nurses who enjoy a good reputation among patients. Those who perform outstandingly during the Games will be rewarded," she said.

A total of 24 hospitals have been designated to provide medical services for the Olympics, including the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, which will serve the athletes, Beijing Union Medical College Hospital for Olympic officials, and Beijing Anzhen Hospital for journalists.

Xinhua

(China Daily 05/16/2008 page2)