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Thursday, August 28, 2008 |
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OLYMPIC GAMES
Beijing's efficiency impresses Ivey dean
Carol Stephenson will always recall her lost wallet in China.
In the hustle of travel between cities, she forgot her wallet in a hotel and got a call from the front desk. They could courier the wallet to her new hotel in another city, but not the money in it. So they transferred the money into Chinese currency and wired it into her bank account, before shipping the wallet. "I mean, talk about efficiency," she laughed yesterday, a few hours after returning to London. "I am still not sure how they figured it all out. It is one of the little lessons about how impressive the whole experience was and how impressive the Chinese people are." The Beijing Olympics was a study in organized efficiency, with events running well and on time and the machinations of a city of more than 20 million people running like clockwork every day, seemingly effortlessly, she said. "It was amazing. I felt like I was witnessing history," she said. "I have no doubt this will make a lasting impression on China. This will have an impact, an influence. Something lasting will come out of this." But the challenge now facing VANOC -- which is what the next Olympic organizing committee is called -- is not to try and top the spectacle of these recent Games, which cost more than $40-billion as compared to the 2004 Games in Athens that cost $16 billion. But its goal is to make them open, fun and uniquely Canadian. "No one will again replicate what Beijing did," she said. "But we need to be different to express our culture, express what Canada is." The next Games will be smaller, the Winter Games always are because of fewer events, but the board of directors will next meet Sept. 17 to discuss how to make them unique on a smaller scale. Stephenson will be there, armed with her own notes. "A few things interested me," she said of Beijing. "They had a million volunteers. You could not go anywhere without someone greeting you, guiding you, giving directions. They did it so well." Along with the army of volunteers, the security was effective, but not restrictive. Traffic flow and transportation were also a model of efficiency, creating Olympic-only vehicle lanes. That's one area where VANOC will try to duplicate those efforts, she believes. But there are areas where Canada has an advantage. The next Games will be more accessible and more open to more people, considering many Chinese weren't allowed in Games areas due to the sheer population. Also look to Vancouver to have a more fun feel to it, with music, parties and open-air events and celebrations . "Our goal will be to try be very inclusive, to create a greater sense of fun with more outdoor sites." Vancouver also offers a "spectacular setting, a spectacular backdrop," Stephenson said. The work is well underway. Most of the venues in Vancouver are completed, the company that will stage the opening ceremony has been hired and it's the same one that did the Olympic celebration in Sydney. "The whole sense of getting our culture out there is really important. I'm very excited by 2010. We have spoken to various groups, from various cultures and got their input into the look and feel of it. We will be proud of it," she said. Stephenson was in Beijing just five years ago and the army of bicycles has given way to vehicle traffic and a subway that costs pennies to use. The city had three ring roads then, but has six now with a master plan to go to eight. "You do feel a sense of change there," she said. Norman De Bono is a Free Press business reporter.
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E-MAIL: Norman De Bono