The Top Ten News Stories on Beijing Olympic Games (2006) were unveiled on
Thursday, with "Chinese government attaches great importance to
Olympic preparation" and "Affordable ticket prices announced for
the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games" standing high on the list.
BOCOG Executive Vice President Jiang Xiaoyu and other
dignitaries attended the unveiling ceremony and announced the
results. On hand were also athletes' representatives, including
twin sisters Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting, first Chinese gold
metal winners in synchronized swimming, and Asian Games weightlifting gold medalist Qiu
Le.
The Internet users' voting, together with experts' evaluation,
produced the Top Ten list: 1) Chinese government attaches great
importance to Olympic preparation; 2) Affordable ticket prices
announced for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games; 3) Supportive
structures of the National Stadium removed successfully; 4) Over
240,000 Beijingers apply for volunteers; 5) BOCOG launches
Heart-to-Heart Partnership program; 6) IOC decides on the
competition schedule for Beijing 2008; 7) Creation team for Games
ceremonies announced; 8) Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Mascot Fu
Niu Lele unveiled; 9) Beijing 2008 Olympic pictograms unveiled; and
10) Regulations on Reporting Activities in China by Foreign
Journalists issued.
In his speech, Jiang Xiaoyu said remarkable progress has been
made in the construction of the official website of the Beijing
2008 Olympic Games over the last year. After the launch of the new
edition, steady increase has been seen in the number of visitors to
the site, which has become a key window for the broad masses to pay
attention to, support and take part in the Olympics.
The selection campaign was sponsored by the official website of
the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (www.beijing2008.cn), People's
Daily online (www.people.com.cn), and Xinhuanet
(www.xinhuanet.com).
Since its launch on December 17, the campaign has attracted
growing interest and support from Internet users across the country
and abroad, with votes coming from all provinces, autonomous
regions and municipalities, as well as Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (SAR) and Macao SAR. Votes also came from
over 50 countries and regions, including Australia, Russia, Canada,
Indonesia, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Norway,
Greece, Nepal, and the Bahamas. Up to December 28, over 300,000
votes have been received.
The selection campaign was supervised by the Internet Affairs
Bureau of the State Council Information Office and BOCOG Media and
Communications Department. Sohu.com inc., the official Internet
Content Service Sponsor for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, extended
special support.
(en.beijing2008.cn December 28, 2006)