Games-time live site activities receive nearly 1.5 million visitors

Ruan Lanyu at the press conference

Full coverage: Sixth IOC/BOCOG press conference

(BEIJING, August 14) -- During the joint IOC/BOCOG briefing on Games-time operations on Thursday, Ruan Lanyu, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture informed the media that 1.4626 million visitors have been received at various live sites throughout the city since July 13.

The live sites are a part of Olympic culture building in Beijing for friends, journalists, tourists, athletes and officials from China and abroad. The live sites provide a great opportunity for guests to participate directly in the festive activities and the ambience of the Olympic Games, Ruan said.

Since the opening of the live sites, a variety of activities, including large screen displays, artistic performances, cultural showcases and the exchange of emblems and souvenirs have been staged. Performance troupes from other provinces and countries, as well as dance troupes, choirs and amateur groups at the community level, have captured audiences with exciting shows.

On August 8, Beijing's live sites entertained a total of over 131,000 visitors, who watched the Opening Ceremony with great excitement. At the live sites in Pinggu, Fangshan, Tongzhou, Longtanhu Park, Lianhuachi Park in Fengtai district, and Yong'an Park in Changping district, tens of thousands of people got together in front of the large screens to share in the festivities of the Olympic Games. The live site at the Temple of Earth received as many as 21,000 spectators, including people from the US, Belgium, Demark, UK and Italy.

From August 15 to 24, at Tian'anmen Square, mass celebrations are planned, with folk dancing, fitness dancing and other performances related to cultural heritage protection to be showcased.

For more live sites to visit, Ruan recommended the guide for cultural activities where programs and schedules are provided.

Also at the press conference, Wang Wei, executive vice-president and secretary general of BOCOG, reported that a total of 27 competition events were staged in 30 venues on Wednesday, including 20 in Beijing and 10 in 6 co-host cities. The competition venues received 3,231 athletes and 2,252 team officials from 131 participating teams. In addition, 2,359 technical officials, 495,609 spectators, 6,512 VIPs and 7,857 journalists visited the venues.

On August 14, the sixth day of the Olympic Games, 23 competition events in 24 venues will be staged; 17 gold medals will be awarded.