Olympic Promises?

The 2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, China this summer. This is a pretty well-publicized fact of late due to protests held relating to Tibet, and the various situations that the torch relay is causing.

With all the controversy arising, I did a bit of research on how the games wound up in China to begin with. I found an old article about why the IOC awarded Beijing with the honor. It sounds like it was a pretty big gamble because Beijing's economic conditions at that time did not really justify its being selected. In 2001, the transportation and lodging infrastructure was inadequate, the city was heavily polluted and congested, and other aspects of the Beijing city life needed improvement. Apparently the representatives for Beijing's bid promised certain things would be done, in return for being able to host the Olympics.

I am wondering how the city is doing in meeting all of its promises to the IOC; the pollution part of it appears not to have been met although authorities are working hard to provide the clean atmosphere. There are even strong concerns that the "athletes may suffer from Beijing's noxious atmosphere."

If the conditions have not been met, there is a problem. I am concerned about the world-class athletes' health as they compete. It will be unfair if their performance is affected by Beijing pollution that should have been addressed already.

I am wondering if China truly thought it could prepare sufficiently for the Olympics (and perhaps it has?), or if they were unsure but bid anyway to make the country look better in the global arena...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/07/13/edsham.php?page=1
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7346305.stm