photo credit: Rick McCharles
Not many events in this day in age bring the attention of the entire world to one common point as entire countries watch with bated breath as their most skilled representatives put themselves to the test. The Olympics have long been a source of great national pride as athletes from all across the world compete against one another for a chance to be recognized as one of the best athletes in the world. The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held in Beijing, China, and organizers anticipate over 10,500 athletes to participate in over 300 events. For the first time in the event’s history, China will be the host of the Summer Olympics, and although China’s actions threaten to sacrifice some of the mystique of the event, there is no doubting that the Summer Olympics is one of the most important sporting events in the world.

The modern Olympic Games date back to 1894. Pierre Fredi sought to improve international relations and understanding by creating a sporting event that would require the world to come together. His idea for this event stemmed from the Wenlock Olympian Society National Games which had been hosting a similar event since 1850. Although the turnout for the first of Fredi’s games was low, with only 245 athletes and 14 countries represented, it was still the largest international event that had been organized. Four years later, the event was merged with Paris’s World Fair and attracted four times as many athletes, but it is unclear which events were actually considered “Olympic” because of the lack of distinction between fair events and Olympic events. Throughout the rest of the decade, events were held all across the world with varying levels of success, mostly because of the lack of adequate means to travel to these locations, but by 1912, the games in Stockholm were able to attract competitors from every continent, numbering over 2,500 athletes. Between World War I and World War II, the Summer Olympic Games experienced many outside influences, ranging from Nazi propaganda from Hitler to the inception of advertising by Coca-Cola.

photo credit: renaissancechambara
From then until today, the Summer Olympic Games have seen their fair share of controversy and disaster, as well as inspiring stories of success and triumph. It is certainly the desire of everybody to see that the latter is the norm at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. This year will mark the first time that the Summer Olympics were held in the country, a decision made in 2001 at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee. Traditionally, the method of choosing the city in which the Summer Olympics will be held falls to a vote within the IOC. Through several voting rounds, the short list of eligible cities is slowly diminished until one remains. The decision to host the Summer Olympics in Beijing, though, came as a bit of a surprise when an absolute majority was reached in the second round of voting, which eliminated the need for any further rounds. The other cities in contention included Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka, but they did not receive enough votes. Winning the bid was a source of great national pride for China.

photo credit: Rick McCharles
Construction of the venues for the 2008 Summer Olympics in China began as early as May 2007. The majority of the budget for the construction of the six main venues comes from corporate bids and tenders, all of which are looking for ownership of the venues after the Olympic Games are completed. These investments make up $2.1 billion, or 85% of the total budget. Although most of the events will take place in Beijing, some, such as sailing and equestrian, will be held outside of the city for safety and practicality reasons. The centerpiece of the Olympic Games will be the Beijing National Stadium. Nicknamed the “Bird’s Nest” because of its unique structure, the Beijing National Stadium is the second attempt at creating an Olympic venue in China. The first venue, the Guangdong Olympic Stadium, was decided against, and a worldwide design competition took place in order to determine what shape the Beijing National Stadium would take. A Swiss design firm, working together with China Architecture & Design Research Group, won the contest and created this design for the stadium that will be used during the opening and closing ceremonies as well as during certain events.

photo credit: flibblesan
Beijing has also undergone many other changes in order to accommodate the massive rush of tourism and foreign interest in the city. The transportation system has been retooled and improved, with the subway system, for example, reaching a capacity that is twice of what its former size was. There are also several public transit routes that have been set up to link the Olympic venues. Going green has been a major part of Chinese preparation for the event, especially in the wake of a global surge in environmental awareness that has left China the task to clean up a notoriously polluted city. The Olympics will be broadcast solely in high-definition and is likely to have billions of viewers, but there are still lingering worries about Chinese censorship of certain events. Although the Chinese government has said that it will allow free reign of the media throughout the events and from one event to the other, there have been reports that the proceedings are bogged down by lengthy application processes, strict rules and regulations, and worries of violations of the supposed free media reign.

One of the most important Olympic traditions is the Olympic Torch Relay, which involves the world-spanning journey of the torch. The relay is expected to last over four months and the torch will travel over 85,000 miles. A smooth journey, though, the torch has not and will not have, as widespread protests against China’s human rights violations have injected politics into the venerable tradition of the torch relay. For example, many attempts in Great Britain were made to extinguish the Olympic torch, and it was completely extinguished in Paris, although it is specifically designed to avoid such encounters. Still, China maintains that such protests are contrary to the Olympic spirit and that such protests should be put aside and subject to the laws of the country in which they occur, rather than marring a tradition that has taken place for many years before 2008 and one that will continue long after.

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing will be a time for the world to watch as their nation’s representatives compete for a gold, silver, or bronze medal. Friendships will be built and rivalries will be fueled, but it is all in the name of the Olympics. With billions of viewers, the Olympic Games are the most important sporting events in the history of the world and they continue to be of great significance to international relations and sportsmanship in general. While political and cultural tensions threaten to put a wedge between many forces involved in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the Olympic spirit of international peace hopes to carry on when the games begin.