Beijing embodies power, spirit of Games

The successful holding of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics was a landmark in the three decades of reform and opening up and a great experience for the Chinese people on their road to building a relatively better-off society. It will serve as a starting point for Beijing to strive to become an international metropolis.

The Olympics has indeed left Beijing with a rich material and spiritual legacy. The most visible of the material legacy are the spectacular sports venues, but perhaps equally, if not more, important are the sports-related industries and talents. The Games have also left us with "five spirits": patriotism, professionalism, devotion, innovation and teamwork, as well as the spirit of sport and volunteer work.

The Olympics has played a positive role in establishing a democratic, open, civilized and prosperous image of China. It has also displayed to the world China's 5,000-year-old splendid culture and helped strengthen its soft power.

Beijing has benefited greatly from the Games, which has helped improve its infrastructure and urban eco-system, and upgrade its expertise in modern management. This lasting legacy will continue to play an important role in propelling the city's sustainable development.

At the industrial level, the Olympics has promoted the development of cultural and sport industries. It has injected new vitality into industries such as entertainment, sport and sport facilities, TV broadcasting, fine arts, tourism and leisure, and urban landscape.

Many professionals, who helped organize the Games, are now armed with invaluable experiences and working in different fields. They are familiar with international practices, well versed in foreign languages and experienced in organizing big sport events.

The millions of volunteers, who have made huge contributions to the Olympics and Paralymics with their devotion, commitment and hard work, and charmed the world with their smiles, are helping bring change in every part of the country with their volunteering spirit.

The "Olympic city" brand has left Beijing with precious resources. The Olympics is the world's largest, most complex and the highest level of sports event, and its influence is worldwide. Only 22 cities in 18 countries can claim to have this brand.

Since the value and influence of the brand improved tremendously after the 1984 Los Angles Games, Beijing is now part of an exclusive club of seven cities that have played host to the Olympics in the past two and half decades.

Thanks to Beijing in no small measure, the Olympic legacy has become more important. Starting from the Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee requires the host city to write an assessment report of the overall impact of the Olympics on the environment, economy, society and culture three years after the Games. Beijing obviously is under international observation, making it all the important for it leave a lasting stamp on the spirit of the Olympic legacy as far as sustainable development is concerned.

The international media's eyes are trained on the Games venues in Beijing and other Chinese cities, which co-hosted the Olympics, to see how they would be used after the sports gala.

Some Olympic cities staged very successful Olympics, but their image suffered after the Games because they failed to use the sport venues effectively. Therefore, proper use of the venues and the Olympic spirit has a great impact on the image of the host city and the country. Olympic cities such as Los Angles, Barcelona and Atlanta established special departments to carry forward the Olympic legacy. This reminds us of the long-term significance of developing the legacy.

The Beijing municipal government has summarized the experiences in organizing the Games in a timely manner and promoted innovation in governance and management. The temporary measures on transport, the environment, food safety and hygiene, and volunteering during the Games have been transformed into normal mechanisms to help scientific development.

Beijing has made some initial achievements in the proper use of sport venues to meet people's needs. The huge complex of which the Bird's Nest, Water Cube and the Olympic Green has become a new popular tourist spot. The number of visitors these venues drew exceeded even that to the Palace Museum for some time after the Games. And the Water Cube has been playing host to aquatic performances and shows for many months now.

But we need policy support, too, to use of the sport facilities in the best way possible so that more people can use them. The Olympic Green has to be managed well so that people can enjoy the fruits of the Olympics and feel inspired by the Olympic culture and by sport.

A green Olympics was one of the three concepts of the Beijing Games. Effective measures were taken to ensure good air quality in the city during the Games. It is commendable that the municipal government has adopted a long-term goal to build a "Green Beijing".

Many measures that had been taken during the Games are being and will be followed. These include green traffic, technology, farming and industries. By the end of June, the number of days with air quality above level 2 was 146, 23 more than the same period last year and the best since 2000.

The industrial structure has improved, too, after the Games, with the third industries up 74.6 percent of the first half of this year. Beijing is one of the top cities in the country in terms of energy conservation and emission reduction. The Olympics, though grand, was a one-off sports gala for Beijing, but its scientific concept will have a lasting impact on its sustainable development.

The successful Games has greatly ignited people's enthusiasm in sports. The Games helped increase the number of sport facilities and the people who exercise regularly, with the sports industries seeing a rapid growth.

Our national sports strategy should now aim at ensuring that people are physically fit, have better health and enjoy a healthier life. We must ensure that sport plays an important role in pushing the all-round development of the people, and their economic and social progress.

A balanced development of competitive and mass sports is important, too. We should include more people in the national fitness program and provide them with more and better sport services.

The international media continues to focus on the post-Games use of the sport venues, urban transportation, the environment, tourism, cultural and the sport industry as well as the normalization of temporary measures in conformity with international practices during the Olympics.

The world was impressed with the enthusiasm and efficiency of hundreds of millions of Chinese people during the Games. The consolidation of the Olympic legacy depends on people's participation, too. Taking pride in holding the Games, the Chinese people have imbibed the "Olympic spirit", which should be treasured and properly directed to contribute to the cause of building a more open, civilized and prosperous China.

The author is Executive Vice-President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

(China Daily 08/05/2009 page9)