Travel News

(BEIJING, June 18) — Ukrainian athletes are hard at work, getting ready for the fast approaching Beijing Olympic Games. With a countdown clock blinking away the days in the lobby of the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the pressure is hard to ignore, reported Xinhua.

Ukrainians are known internationally for their excellence in sports. With less than 48 million total inhabitants, Ukraine managed to take 23 medals at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (9 gold, 5 silver, 9 bronze), standing in 12th place in the medal count.

According to a spokesperson for the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, by June 9, 2008, 248 athletes were notified of their qualification for the Olympics, surpassing the quota of 220-230 representatives. Ukraine is planning on sending a team of about 400 people to Beijing, among whom over 250 will be athletes.

The Ukrainian government attaches great importance to preparatory work for the Games. President Victor Yushchenko has personally looked in on the National Olympic Committee and requested information regarding the situation of his nation’s athletes. Although a lack of appropriate training centers and qualified coaches are obstacles to Ukraine’s athletic progress, under the continued support of the central and local governments, athletes from Ukraine are ready to put up a strong fight in August.

Trainers have tailored practice plans to take into account the time and weather differences between Ukraine and China. A representative of the Ukraine Olympic Committee expressed earlier that these circumstances are fair to all athletes; the atmospheric conditions will not negatively affect athletes’ performances.

Ukraine has hopes of shining in about 15 Olympic Games competitive events, including wrestling, judo, gymnastics, athletics, boxing, swimming, sailing, shooting, and archery.

Plans are for the Ukrainian delegation to congregate in Kiev, the capital, for a send-off ceremony on July 27. President Yushchenko, who will be attending the Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony to cheer for his country, is joined by all Ukrainians in the hope for national glory.

Tags: Ukrainian
Posted in Beijing Olympics, Sport Travel | Comments (0)

There are still plenty of hotel rooms available for the Beijing Olympics.

Director of Beijing’s Tourism Bureau Zhang Huiguang says the crunch that was predicted doesn’t seem to be happening.

About 500,000 foreigners were expected for the games, she said, a figure Beijing officials have long been predicting.

She said Beijing’s five-star hotels are booked at 77 percent of capacity during the Aug. 8-24 Olympic Games, and the four-star hotel rate is 44 percent. And it’s even lower for three- and two-stars.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Beijing Olympics, hotels
Posted in Beijing Olympics | Comments (0)

Xinhua - BRASILIA — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will head to Beijing to attend the Beijing Olympics, Brazilian Minister of Sports Orlando Silva announced on Thursday.

The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro is competing with Madrid of Spain, Tokyo of Japan and Chicago of the U.S. for hosting the 2016 Olympic Games.

Lula has agreed to act as the spokesperson for Rio de Janeiro’s candidacy to host the 2016 Olympics.

“Lula’s presence at the Beijing Olympics is crucial to promoting Brazil as a host country,” Orlando Silva said.

Nearly 40 million U.S. dollars may be allocated by the government to financing the campaign for Rio de Janeiro’s candidacy of the 2016 Olympics.

On June 4, Rio de Janeiro has passed the first round of tests held by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was selected as one of the four cities to possibly host the 2016 Games.

Tags: Brazilian, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Orlando Silva
Posted in Beijing Olympics | Comments (0)

Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been denied permission to play for his native Lithuania in the Beijing Olympics. (David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Cleveland Cavaliers have denied permission to Zydrunas Ilgauskas to play for his native Lithuania in the Beijing Olympics.

Cavs manager Danny Ferry said that Ilgauskas’ history of injuries makes him a high-risk player. He has a history of foot injuries and the team is concerned about his lower back.

Ilgauskas has a contract with the Cavaliers that is not fully insured, meaning he had to ask permission to play in the Olympics.

The centre viewed the Beijing Games as his last chance to play for Lithuania.

The decision makes LeBron James the only member of the Cavaliers to go to Beijing.

Tags: beijing, Cleveland Cavaliers, Ilgauskas, Lithuania
Posted in Beijing Olympics | Comments (0)