376 days to go
The billboard advertisements for some of the flashier apartment buildings and villa complexes in Beijing are being torn down, as the government seeks to present a more sober image ahead of the Olympics just over one year from now.
In the Central Business District and along the airport expressway, the big brash billboards are being given a total makeover. This is to be the sovereign terrain of the Olympic sponsors from now on.
There will be nearly a 50 per cent increase in the number of commercial partners at the Beijing games from past Olympics, and next year's Olympics are tipped to be the most commercially successful ever. Commercial factors such as sponsorship are important, but so too is presenting the right image of China. Beijing's city fathers are keen to present a metropolis that is still a Communist city, despite the recent economic boom. The form of socialism that Beijing represents is one with Chinese characteristics. 'Many use exaggerated terms that encourage luxury and self-indulgence which are beyond the reach of low-income groups, and are therefore not conducive to harmony in the capital,' Mayor Wang Qishan told Xinhua.
The operation is also about clearing the hoardings for what the International Olympic Committee described at a recent meeting in Guatemala as an 'unprecedented' sponsorship programme.
The Beijing games will have 55 official sponsors and suppliers, including Coca-Cola, Adidas, Visa International and Lenovo, a big increase on the 38 at the 2004 games in Athens.
