Headlines : Government

Beijing Olympics: Organizers change draconian security arrangements

Summary:

The Chicoms really know how to put a damper on things. Official paranoia is reportedly a key reason for large numbers of empty seats at major events.

Visitors to Beijing are feeling disappointed. Journalists are getting irate and asking embarrassing questions. In return, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) have been cancelling the daily press briefings.

And now, as this article explains, the official sponsors are starting to cry foul. Who wants to be associated with something that’s no fun? Besides, it looks like many of those companies that saved money by not joining the official sponsor group are actually doing better at associating themselves with the glorious, sanitized version of the Olympics that is being beamed around the world on satellite.

[Posted By Beagle17]

By Richard Spencer
Republished from Telegraph (U.K.)

Beijing Olympics organisers were forced to lift draconian security arrangements after complaints from sponsors that the millions of pounds they had spent was going to waste

The empty spaces around the main Olympic venues, where the majority of sponsors have their “pavilions” to show off their wares to the public, came on top of a disappointing build-up to the Games for many companies.

Tight security, which the Beijing organisers had decreed was their top priority, meant the zone was virtually closed off to the public. Beijing as a whole has been unusually quiet since the opening ceremony, with the government encouraging viewers to stay at home and watch the Games on television.

Finally a delegation of sponsors, led by Johnson and Johnson, the health care company, complained to the International Olympics Committee demanding change. Johnson and Johnson have one of the most ambitious pavilions ever staged for a sporting event, costing £10 million and containing not just 4,000 bamboo plants to provide a water garden effect but five real terracotta warriors from Xi’an.

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Posted by Beagle17
"RSS here": http://feeds.feedburner.com/GnnBeagle17 Grew up in Nova Scotia. Hold BSc. in Biology and Grad. Diploma Journalism. Moved to Korea in 1997, and Taiwan in 1999. Currently teaching, writing, and doing Web design. Concerned about depleted...

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