Full coverage of the press conference on the world preview of the Olympic Village

Scene of the press conference

Related story: Olympic Village to ensure athletes feel at home

Date/Time: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Venue: Beijing Olympic Media Centre (No.55, Chaoyangmennei Street)

Wang Hui

Madame Wang Hui:

Good afternoon, media friends. You are all warmly welcomed to participate in today's open press conference hosted here at the Beijing Olympic Media Centre. Today, we have many journalists here, which is indicative that you are very interested in the content of this briefing. As you all know, today's press conference will be in two stages: first, we'll present an overview of the construction status of the Beijing Olympic Village, also the Paralympic Village. Then we'll take you to visit the grounds at the Olympic Village.

Today, we have the honor of inviting Mr. Yu Debin, Deputy Director of Olympic Village Department, and also Ms. Liu Rong from the Guoao Investment Company, the construction company for the Olympic Village, to today's press conference.

Now Mr. Yu Debin will brief us on the operational plans of the Olympic Village during the 2008 Games.

Yu Debin

Yu Debin:

Ladies and gentlemen, I'll now introduce how the Olympic Village and Paralympic Village are organized regarding the Games.

My introduction includes six parts:

First, let's review the instructions guiding the operation of the Olympic Village and Paralympic Village: the International Olympic Committee (IOC) put Article 39 of the new Olympic Charter into practice on September 1, 2004. It stipulates that with the objective of bringing together all competitors, team officials and other team personnel in one place, the BOCOG shall provide an Olympic Village for a period of time determined by the IOC Executive Board. The IOC's instructions also include the Service Guide for Foreign Media Coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period and technical manuals on Olympic Village, Paralympic Games, media operations and accommodation.

Second, the tasks and purposes of Olympic Village's operation team. The overall mission of the Olympic Village's operation team is to offer adequate reception services and make the Olympic Village a safe, harmonious, comfortable and convenient home for all the athletes, officials and other local residents. This will be accomplished by following the directives of the central government, the guiding principles of the 17th National Congress of the CPC and the leadership of Beijing Municipal Government and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad

Journalists at the press conference

The team's general purpose is to make the upcoming Olympic Games a high-level event with distinctive characteristics. The team, guided by the principles of scientific development, has adopted the concepts of "green, technology-based and people-oriented Olympics". They will put great emphasis on all the necessary details as well as provide an emergency response system in order to competently operate the preparations for the Olympic Village and the Paralympic Village as well as skillfully run the two villages during these events.

Third, the overall planning of Olympic Village and Paralympic Village. The Olympic Village for the XXIX Olympiad includes the Beijing athletes' village, green homes and member apartments for the media village as well as offices for temporary officials, the Qingdao athletes' village and offices for affiliated temporary officials and the Hong Kong athletes' village, Groom Village.

The Olympic village will be transformed into the Paralympic Village and subsequently assume reception tasks for the Paralympic delegations. The Olympic village will serve as temporary residential homes for 16,000 athletes and attendant officials as well as serve as the headquarters for the IOC delegations and as a meeting venue for the heads of various delegations. In addition, it is also the primary site for welcoming ceremonies for delegations and other kinds of cultural activities.

The area provides security, transportation, catering, environmental activities, visitor reception, religious services, medical services and Chinese culture displays. The Olympic village is the largest non-competitive venue designed for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. The Beijing Olympic Village, as a key component of the Olympic Park, is located in the northern end of Beijing's north-south axis. Covering 660,000 square meters, it borders the Olympic Forest Park to the north and several major Olympic venues to the south, such as the National Stadium and the "Water Cube."

Beijing Kehui Road bisects the Beijing Olympic Village into two parts, with some 27 hectares in the south and about 39 hectares in the north. Its east-west width is approximately 900 meters. The parking lot in the south, serving the athletes, has a north-south length of 800 meters. The athletes' apartments together with other supporting facilities, including the flag-raising square in the north and the Peace Plaza and Truce Wall, are meant to serve as permanent architecture.

The remaining structures are meant for short-term use only. After the 2008 Paralympic Games, the Olympic Village will be renovated and transformed. The area north of Kehui Road will merge into the Forest Park. The flag-raising square will remain as part of the cultural heritage of the XXIX Olympiad permanently and it will be open to the public. The apartments in the south will serve as a high-grade residential area after the Olympic Games.

Deliveries are scheduled to house buyers by the end of 2009.

The Beijing Olympic Media Village has two distinct sections, namely green homes and member apartments. The two media villages will receive 7,000 registered media personnel, mainly broadcasters, Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Corporation and various members of the press. The green homes media village is six km from the main press center of the International Broadcast Center, with a driving time of only 5-10 minutes. The member apartments media Village is 500 meters from the National Indoor Stadium and 100 meters from the main press center of the International Broadcast Center, with a driving time of only two minutes.