A great Olympics weekend

Beijing August 16/17th, 2008

To the Water Cube for the morning's session - under a beautiful blue sky - to see Michael Phelps win his 7th gold in the men's 50m butterfly. A controversial finish and a winning margin of only .01 secs..but who doesn't want him to break Spitz's record?

The real highlight for us was watching GB swimmer Rebecca Aldington power her way to victory in the 800m freestyle beating the 19 year old world record. She hit the front from the beginning and just steadily pulled away from the field (is that what you call it in swimming? or only horse racing) just giving a little ground in the closing 50m but it was far too late for anyone to catch her.

Luxury apartments overlooking Olympic Green. rumour is that Bill Gates bought here

A number of countries have set up hospitality venues for sponsors to entertain their guests as well as to provide relaxation facilities for athletes, their families and visiting nationals. We visited a couple - Holland Heineken House (guess the sponsor) - a vast beer hall sort of place set in the grounds of the Beijing Agricultural College where we seemed to be the only people not dressed head to toe in orange and the UK's 'London House' - a showpiece organised by the Major of London's office to highlight London as a tourist destination and, of course, venue for the 2012 games. The setting was the elegant surroundings of a private members dining club - Shi Cha Hai - situated on the bank of Hou Hai lake. Apparently, the originally planned venue of Ritan Park had been commandeered as one of the officially approved 'protest zones' during the games. Guests walked round an exhibition of London history whilst snacking on mini-pork pies and pate.

In the evening we were at the Birds Nest. The building is just spectacular, with great views from everywhere. We saw the 100m final and the incredible - seemingly casual - run from the Jamaican Usain Bolt.

Home on the subway. Beijing opened 3 new subway lines just the week before the games started with one coming straight into the Olympic Green and a short walk from the national stadium and the water cube. The subway was free and they managed to move tens of thousands of spectators through the station and onto trains smoothly and efficiently with virtually no waiting.

Entering Olympic Green subway station

Sunday was a recovery day for us but we had been bitten by the Olympic bug and watched, transfixed, on TV as Michael Phelps made Olympic history by winning his 8th gold medal. By now, Tac was receiving regular update emails from team GB informing her of our medal progress. She saw that two British cyclists were racing for gold and silver in the individual pursuit later that afternoon so - with no tickets, but armed with cash - we jumped in a cab and headed across town to the veladrome. I had never seen track cycling before. It's really exciting and spooky at the same time. The sleek, skin tight suits; the aerodynamic pointy helmets and the bikes with solid wheels. It's something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Only the ray guns are missing. We saw Rebecca Romero win gold for GB and her team mate Wendy Houvenaghel take the silver. It was great to see 2 Union Jacks raised during the medal ceremony.


The highlight at the Laoshan Velodrome, however, was the men's team pursuit. Two teams of 4 riders each chase each other round the track. It's so elegant, so visually appealing - you can't take your eyes off it. The British team set a new world record in their semi-final heat and went on to win the gold the following day.

Incredible, by Sunday night team GB was 3rd in the medal table! Enjoy it while you can.

Overall, the organisation of the Olympics seem superb. Getting in and out of the Olympic Green wasn't too bad - usual security checks - but we were through it all in about 20 minutes on both occasions. The facilities are excellent and the thousands of volunteers in their in their blue and white Olympic shirts and hats are doing a terrific job in helping people get through with minimum fuss. The volunteers in the velodrome were spectacular - the most helpful and friendly we saw anywhere. They even lined up and sang as the spectators left the the venue at the end of the evening. Only the food selection has been disappointing. Lots of food and drink sales areas but a pretty limited selection to be had. The Bird's Nest has beer-only sales points and we got to know them well.

Beijing is looking wonderful right now. Flags line all the main roads; huge Olympic banners cover the half-finished buildings sitting in the middle of construction sites abandoned for two months during the games; and no construction noise or dust. The streets are relatively clear of traffic, cabs are still easy to find and the weather has been great. I hope the many visitors and press appreciate the effort that has gone into these events - not just the substantial money thrown at it by the government - but the hard work and dedication that ordinary people of Beijing have put in to make these games a success for the participants.