Page 23 - Sphere No.22 (Aug 2008)

SPHERE 21
events and the opening and closing ceremonies.
Close by is the aquatics centre, another architectural
marvel, in this case designed by the Australian company
PTW. The Cheung Kong Group is one of the major spon-
sors. From the outside it looks as if it has been made of
giant blue soap bubbles,
hence its nickname, the
Water Cube.The effect is
made possible by the use
of the translucent mate-
rial ETFE that allows the
colour to be changed.
During the two weeks
of competition, the Wa-
ter Cube, which has
6,000 permanent seats
and 11,000 temporary
seats, will see a total of
42 gold medals awarded.
TORCH SHOWS THE WAY
THE OLYMPIC torch relay is an integral part of the
world’s largest sporting event.
Themed the“Journey of Harmony”,the torch relay has
helped spread peace and friendship around the world.
The torch’s journey began on 24 March at Panathe-
naikon Stadium, where the first modern Olympic
Games were held in Athens in 1896. The torch
has since journeyed through five continents and
135 cities, even making a stop on Mount Everest
and taking a ride on a dragon boat.
As far as the Hutchison employees in Hong
Kong are concerned, perhaps
the biggest cheers where
heard when the torch arrived
in the territory to begin the
Chinese leg of its journey.
HWL Deputy Chairman
Victor Li was among
the 119 torchbearers
to spread the Olym-
pic spirit throughout
Hong Kong. “I feel very
privileged,” he said. “It
is an experience I will
never forget.”
Sponsorship
There is a neat sporting link between
China and the Hutchison port operations in the
Bahamas. The decision was made for Bahamian-based
Hutchison companies to sponsor the uniforms and travel gear
for the Special Olympics athletes and officials on their trip to
the Shanghai Games last year. The athletes came back with a
haul of 28 medals, including their first-ever gold medal.
Over in Canada, the energy company Husky sponsors a to-
tally different kind of sporting event – world-class showjump-
ing. The Husky Energy Classic Cup Competition, held near
Calgary last year, is a popular competition now in its eighth
year. The theme of last year’s event was “Celebrating Husky’s
Community Partnerships”.
Husky also sponsored an Olympic Gala to celebrate the
achievements of athletes from Canada and China. The event
was attended by Olympic medallists from both countries and
included ethnic dance, music and martial arts.
Programmes such as these, using popular sporting figures,
are effective ways of associating companies with positive, feel-
good community events. A similar approach is taken in India,
using the nation’s most popular sport, the game of cricket,
along with other fun sports such as pool and table tennis.
The latter sport helped ease China back into the interna-
tional community during the 1970s. Ping-pong diplomacy,
whereby China’s stars showed off their dazzling skills overseas,
proved to be hugely popular worldwide and was the catalyst
for the nation to embark on a more ambitious sports-build-
ing programme, ultimately leading to participation in the Los
Angeles Games in 1984.
The fact that China is now hosting the Games indicates the
great strides the nation has made during the past two decades.
There is even speculation that the nation could top the medals
table but whatever the final result, sport will be the winner.
The past decade has seen rapid growth in largely middle-class
sports such as golf and tennis, where a comfortable income is
usually needed for participation.These days, it is the younger, of-
fice-bound generation who are probably in need of exercise; old
timers can be seen doing their daily Tai Chi routines through-
out the nation, knowing full well that stretching of the limbs and
regulated deep breathing, ensures a happier and healthier life. IMAGINECHINA