The world's most inclusive sporting event, the Olympics, is expected to take place in the Chinese capital of Beijing on August 8-24, 2008. On Wednesday night, dignitaries and sports fans from across China and the rest of the world gathered in front of the Chinese National Museum at Tiananmen Square in Beijing for a colorful ceremony to celebrate the one-year countdown to the games. Fireworks lit up the sky prompting all-night celebrations and merry-making.
Beijing believes it is ready for the 2008 Olympics. It has already spent billions of dollars on new sports infrastructures, roads, subways, leisure venues, etc. But the organizers have one major obstacle in their way -- the poor air quality in Beijing could have a negative effect on the athletes. There are too many factories and too many cars in the city. The air is thick with smoke and dust -- and occasionally sand -- enveloping the city in a thick layer of smog.
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| There is growing concern over whether the games will in fact begin on time next year. Most delegates attending the countdown celebrations on Wednesday admitted that all the money China has spent on the games would come to nothing unless Beijing cleaned up its air. The president of the International Olympic Committee himself, Jacques Rogge, held that China must do more to clean the air. He also speculated that some of the games might have to be postponed if the air is not cleared on time.
"It is an option," Rogge admitted. "… Sports with short durations would not be a problem, but endurance sports like cycling are examples of competitions that might be postponed or delayed," he added.
China is presently witnessing the biggest boom in its history, and although many factories have been moved out of the city and others even shut down completely because of the games, increasing car sales and non-stop construction work is said to have made the air quality even worse.
China is host to 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities, according to the World Watch Institute. One resident of Beijing, media executive James McGregor, told Voice of America News last year, "You can chew on the air in most cities." But the huge economic boom makes it easy to ignore the situation.
China's pollution problems are made worse by its profound dependence on coal -- it consumes more coal than the European Union, Japan and the United States combined. Environmental researchers have estimated that pollution in China is now causing at least 300,000 premature deaths each year.
The president of the Australian Olympic Committee, John Coates, announced on Wednesday that Australia's athletes would not arrive in Beijing until just before the opening of the games to minimize the pollution risks.
Is Beijing just too polluted for the 2008 Games? We'll have to wait gauge China's progress until a few weeks before the opening ceremony next year.
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