The Beijing 2008 Olympic torch will travel across all the continents of the world and scale the top of Mount Everest, said Games head organizer Liu Qi. The Beijing torch relay will visit 28 cities around the world and 70 cities in China. Liu did not say from which side of the mountain – the Tibetan or the Nepalese – the torch would be carried to the top. Fifteen thousand runners will participate in the relay, which starts in March and finishes in Beijing in August 2008.
Beijing 2008 officials received praise from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thursday on their progress to get sports venues and infrastructure works ready in time for August 2008. IOC President Jacques Rogge said he was certain the Chinese Games organizers would deliver what they had promised. Beijing Games head Liu Qi assured IOC members the main structures for all venues would be completed in 2006. He said the Athletes’ Village and the media centre would be finished this year. “The main part of all venues will be completed this year as well as all the temporary venues. All roads in the Olympic centre will be given to use this year”, he said.
Beijing will host a forum on sport, education and culture in October, the IOC announced Wednesday. IOC Director of Communications Giselle Davies told a press conference in Turin, “the forum will bring together sport and education and tackle the issue of the day, including how to get young people back into sport”. Liu said, “four hundred million elementary students will be taught about the Olympic spirit”. Rogge called the figure “mesmerizing” “That is what the Olympics are about”, he said.
