March: Beijing Olympic flame to be lit

In March 2008, Beijing will celebrate a very important event of the Olympic Games -- the lighting of the Olympic flame.

On March 24, the Olympic torch will be lit on the original site of the ancient Olympics -- Olympia, Greece.

With "Journey of Harmony" as its theme and "Light the Passion, Share the Dreams" as its slogan, and in a journey of 130 days of 137,000km, the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay will pass through 21 cities in five continents, and also stop in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government in China. The flame will also scale the most famous peak in the world -- Mt. Qomolangma. The planned route is the longest ever in Olympic history, with a record number of torchbearers; as such, the relay will become a splendid page in the history of the Olympic Games.

From March 24 to 29, 2008, the flame will travel within Greece. On March 30, BOCOG will go to Greece to escort it to Beijing with a special lantern.

Another eye-catching event before the Olympics is the inauguration of the main stadium of the Beijing Olympics -- the "Bird's Nest" -- at the end of March or early April. Its inauguration marks the end of Olympic venue construction and Beijing's readiness for the Olympiad.

The campaign to solicit Olympic songs enters a key stage in March. The campaign aims at seeking musical works in seven categories for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, including one theme song each for the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay and Paralympic Torch Relay; one theme song for the volunteers of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics; one musical work for the victory ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics; one musical work for the sports presentation of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics; and 30 sets of outstanding lyrics. Their assessment will be held in March.

According to the ticketing policy on the official website of the BOCOG Ticketing Center, tickets sold during the second phase will start to be assigned from March 2008. The best efforts will be made to assign seats in the same price level, and of adjacent order. However, in some cases, they might be assigned in different areas.

In March, sports fans in Beijing should not miss another "Good Luck Beijing" sport event: the Water Polo China Open (March 18-23) at Yingdong Natatorium, which was had been used as a venue for the splendid Asian Games in 1990. Standing in the northwest direction of the Fourth Ring Road, the natatorium and the "Water Cube" face each other and are jointly warming up for the Beijing Olympics, only 200 days away.