Beijing2008 Olympics…

I had missed attending Sydney2000 and Athens2004, so when one of my very best friends, who shares my love of the Olympics, wanted to go to Beijing, I jumped at the chance to go again! We opted to do it in the same manner that I had gone to the Barcelona Games. Before I share some of the photos from Beijing (scroll down if you just want to view the photos), I thought I would just give you an idea of how the ticket process worked, which included the following timeline:

  • October 2006: Started the planning process. We followed the US Olympic Committee to see who they would appoint as the ticket distributor (unlike Barcelona, this time, we had the internet). Once we knew it was to be CoSport, we signed up with them in advance to receive the ticket information;
  • Early 2007: Received the ticket information and studied all of the options so that we could choose our preferred events for each date and time (this is the most difficult part of the process, as it is so overwhelming);
  • March 22, 207: First deadline date for expression of interest as to which tickets we would like to receive;
  • April 3, 2007: Received CoSport’s proposed allocation of tickets, and responded with acceptance of that allocation within the three day deadline that was provided (at this point, nothing was guaranteed);
  • Mid-April 2007: Hospitality packages were offered by CoSport, so we signed up for three 4-day hospitality packages with CoSport for the 12 days we would be there to make sure we would get a hotel room (the hospitality package for Beijing, unlike Barcelona, included twelve specific event tickets, such as Opening Ceremonies, Gymnastics, Swimming, Athletics, etc.);
  • August 1, 2007: Received confirmation that Hospitality Packages had been booked.
  • August 5, 2007: Booked flights (flights out of NY were already tough to obtain; but I’m sure more seats opened up later);
  • Early October 2007: Advised by Co-Sport that tickets had been oversubscribed, and that they were having difficulties fulfilling the ticket requests;
  • October 31, 2007: Received an allocation of tickets for four events based on our original order of sixteen event tickets (we were glad we had signed up for the Hospitality Packages);
  • March 2008: Co-Sport held another round of ticket sales, and we obtained tickets for three additional events;
  • July 2008: While searching internet, found two tickets with GoTickets for the swimming event that “could” be (and was) the 8th gold medal event (we also had tickets to first gold medal event) for Michael Phelps.
  • August 6, 2008: Left for Beijing with 20 event tickets.

This is obviously one of the most expensive ways to go to the Olympics, and requires the most pre-planning, but it is not the only way to go. For example, I recently read that the hotels are 77% booked for the Games in London this year. Plus we have so many more options now with the internet—couch surfing, hostels, bnb’s, apartment rentals, etc…so even if you wanted to go at the last minute, like I did for the Atlanta1996 Games, it is a possibility to skip all of the pre-planning and still be a part of the Olympic experience. And you might even score an event ticket or two. Plus there are events that take place outside of the venues which can be viewed for free…such as the marathon, the mini triathlon and road cycling.

I could go on and on and on about our Beijing experience, but instead, I will just ply you with photos to get you pumped for the upcoming London2012 Games…starting with the Beijing Opening Ceremonies (said to be the best ever! – although for me, they are all “the best”)… the Ceremonies opened up with 2008 drummers lined up perfectly on the field….

2,008 drummers, Opening Ceremonies, Beijing

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Lifting of the lighted Olympic rings

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Globe representing world unity at the Games

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Spectacular Light Shows

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Parade of Atletes

All Athletes, representing 204 countries, in middle of Stadium, awaiting lighting of the torch

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Lighting of the Torch

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"Let the Games Begin!"

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Some of the highlights of the Games are the venues. In Beijing, there were 37 different venues….starting with the Main Stadium…

Birds Nest Statium

National Aquatics Center, aka the "Water Cube"

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Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground

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National Indoor Stadium (Gymnastics)

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Olympic Sculpture in Olympic Park

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The basketball stadium was made out of bamboo…not the floors, but the outside skin of the building!

Then there are all of the different sports (28 total), and the sporting events (a total of 302), and the athletes (11,028)…here are a few highlights (statistics as per Wikipedia):

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Men's Gymnastics

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Women's Gymnastics

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Swimming

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Tennis

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Women's Beach Volleyball

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Men's Beach Volleyball

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Men's Basketball

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Athletics - Women's Pole Vault

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Athletics...

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Athletics...

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Athletics - High Jump

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Athletics - Steeplechase

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Table Tennis

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Then there is the people watching (other than the athletes themselves)…

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It’s been fun to relive my last three Olympic Games experiences, but now it’s time to let the London2012 Games Begin!!!….

Follow me as I head off to London on August 5th to enjoy some of the events and festivities of the London2012 Games!

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