The final one year countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics starts today with an evening gala in Tianmen Square. (Reuters: "WITNESS: Breathless in Beijing"), (CNN: “Coe: Games already shaping Beijing”)
Host cities of previous Olympics launched the one year countdown in a simple ceremony at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. But Beijing had to do better, forcing hundreds of carefully selected dignitaries to sit outside in the heat, listen to meaningless speeches and watching a gala performance which had nothing to do with the Olympics. As a matter of fact, Olympic fatigue is already setting in, certainly among the foreign population of Beijing. The locals are still very proud that their city will host the Olympics, but will soon enough find out the drawbacks, with factories closing, cars ordered off the road and ever more strict security to guarantee that nothing untoward will happen in the run-up – or heaven forbids – during the Olympics.
Meanwhile, many foreigners are already planning an extended holiday next year in August in Bali or Phuket at a safe distance from the Olympic commotion.
Even some Chinese are also getting tired of the Olympic hype. Artist Ai Weiwei, who designed the bird's nest stadium together with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron wants nothing to do with the propaganda and openly declares that he will not attend the opening ceremony.
Some opponents of China are clamoring for a boycott of the Olympics because of the human rights situation or Darfur or whatever they don't like about China. Their voices would have been much weaker if the Chinese government hadn't hyped the Olympics to extend they did. It may very well be the most important sporting event in four years, but it is still only that, a sporting event. There are many much more important things in the world, which deserve much more attention than the Olympics.
Argh, one more year and 17 days before this Olympic madness will die down.
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