BOCOG sent one third of its officials to Australia from Nov. 16 to 23 to attend the Beijing-Sydney Olympic Games Workshop, which was held solely for the Beijing officials.

The 31-member delegation headed by Mr. Wang Wei, Secretary General of BOCOG, attended the 7-day workshop in Sydney. The attendees are either departmental heads or the backbone staff of the organization.

The workshop was composed of two parts: seminars on operation of the Games and site tours.

The seminars covered the operation and management of all activities and events within the“60 Days”starting from the opening ceremony to the end of the Paralympic Games. As many as 20 topics were discussed during the seminars, including evolution of the organizational structure, Paralympic Games, Olympic events, transportation, security, Game services, human resources, technology and telecommunications, venue design and construction, overlay, IBC/MPC, the Olympic Village, city management, marketing and communications, and Olympic broadcasting.

About 55 lecturers from the Sydney side delivered speeches at the workshop. Among them were top-level officials of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and experts in various fields related to the Games, namely Mr. David Richmond, Director General of the Sydney Olympic Games; Mr. Sandy Hollway, CEO of SOCOG; Mr. Robert Adby, Executive Director and Corporate Services for the Olympic Co-ordination Authority. Another 150 experts contributed their experiences and knowledge to the seminars.

The BOCOG officials also visited the Olympic Park and several stadiums in the western part of Sydney. Delegates in the fields of construction and sports also made a special trip to Melbourne to visit some of the flagship stadiums.

The BOCOG delegates benefited greatly from the workshop, which would help the Beijing Games Organizers make and implement strategic plans.

During the workshop, Mr. Bob Carr, Governor of New South Wales, met with Mr. Wang Wei, Secretary General of BOCOG. The municipal government of New South Wales, according to Mr. Sandy Hallway, donated 100,000 Australian dollars to the workshop.

Several Australian enterprises also contributed to the workshop. They took part in the seminars and shared their experiences in construction, venue design, environment protection, traffic control, security, stadium operations, telecommunications, technology, logistics, project management, and sports.

The workshop was the largest gathering of Sydney Olympic officials in the last two years since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. It should also be noted that never before in history, except within the exchange programs under the IOC framework, have over one third of an organizing committee's officials been sent abroad to learn how to operate the Games.

The workshop coincided with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Australian diplomatic relations.

Photo illustration:

1. At the Chinese Consulate in Sydney

2. In the classroom

3. Wang Wei, BOCOG Secretary General, together with other BOCOG delegates paid a visit to the Telstra Stadium in Sydney.

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