Beijing 2008
Put out more (Olympic) flags
Article | Beijing 2008 | Human Rights
Submitted by Martin Slavin on Tue, 17/06/2008 - 08:06.
European Tour Operators Association critiques of alleged tourism benefits from hosting the Olympics
Document Archive | Athens 2004 | Barcelona 1992 | Beijing 2008 | Sydney 2000 | Tourism
'There appears to be little evidence of any benefit to tourism of hosting an Olympic Games, and considerable evidence of damage.' Findings of the European Tour Operators Association 2006 Report and Updates from 2008 and 2009.
Submitted by Julian Cheyne on Mon, 30/11/2009 - 01:44.
Who paid the price for the parade of ‘heroes’?
Article | Beijing 2008 | Displacement | Human Rights
The Roman elite knew something about wooing the public with games and parades and their example has its modern imitators. Now that the Olympic ‘heroes’ have had their parade and the politicians have done their best to bask in their reflected ‘glory’ perhaps we can remember the cost of this spectacle to a population greater than that of Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city. The Beijing Olympics were the most destructive on record. According to the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions' Beijing report they resulted in the removal of one and a half million Chinese. While other human rights issues have been reported in the media this particular outrage passed almost unremarked by politicians, journalists and sports commentators alike during the Games.
Submitted by Julian Cheyne on Fri, 17/10/2008 - 01:17.
Coca Cola Olympic Song
Article | 2012 Arts & Culture | Beijing 2008 | Sponsors
Don't laugh, they're already measuring up Trafalgar Square and writing the lyrics.
Submitted by Charles Batsworth on Thu, 02/10/2008 - 12:21.
Myths of Olympic Proportions - John Hoberman
Article | Beijing 2008 | Human Rights | IOC
John Hoberman is a professor and chair of Germanic studies at the University of Texas at Austin and author of “The Olympic Crisis: Sport, Politics and the Moral Order".
The Olympic Games were founded to bridge cultural divides and promote peace. Instead, they often mask human rights abuses, do little to spur political change, and lend legitimacy to unsavory governments.
Submitted by Charles Batsworth on Tue, 23/09/2008 - 09:51.
So Farewell then the Beijing Olympics
The grandest totalitarian spectacle of sport since the Nazi version in Berlin in 1936 is over. Like that one this version prominently featured the 'sacred' flame and the collusion of the IOC and the media.
Submitted by Martin Slavin on Sun, 31/08/2008 - 19:19.
Let the Bejing Olympics of Global Re-branding and Marketing begin!
Article | Beijing 2008 | Displacement | Human Rights | Security | Sponsors | Swimming
Let the Bejing Olympics of Global Re-branding and Marketing begin!
Submitted by Martin Slavin on Wed, 06/08/2008 - 18:50.
The Olympic Dream: A Sci-Fi Short Story
Please note some of the links in this article are to pages with Chinese text and some computers may not display them correctly
The following “Sci-Fi” short story has been (re)posted in many Chinese online forums and blogs, originally from SCI-FI Great Wall blog, translated by China Digital Times’s Linjun Fan.
Submitted by Charles Batsworth on Wed, 06/08/2008 - 10:00.


