“New Beijing, Great Olympics” Exhibition in Sydney

News release

The“New Beijing, Great Olympics” Exhibition, jointly sponsored by the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Australia and the Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government, is a key part of “Chinese Culture in Australia” activity and an important attraction at the Royal Easter Show.

At least six martial artists and performers from Beijing will enliven the opening ceremony for the exhibition, which is scheduled for 11 a.m., April 7, 2006, at the Lifestyle Pavilion in Sydney Olympic Park.

Mr. Cai Wu, director of the Information Office of the State Council of the PRC, will participate in ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the “New Beijing, Great Olympics” exhibition. An Australian athlete will be invited as an honoured guest.

China's appointment as the only “guest of honour” at the Royal Easter Show 2006 illustrates the importance of this event in the eyes of its sponsor. After the exhibition's opening ceremony, the sponsor will host a lunch, especially for the “New Beijing, Great Olympics” Exhibition, to which about 100 guests, including members of the Chinese delegation, officials from Embassy of the PRC in Australia and the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, will be invited. They will be joined by Chinese sponsors and important clients of the Royal Easter Show and key supporters.

The 450-square-metre exhibition will give visitors a chance to become momentarily immersed in the life of modern Beijing. Flags of the Beijing Olympic Games mascots, the Friendlies, will hang from the ceiling. There will be a photography show, featuring fine images of Beijing's historical and cultural legacies, including the World Heritage Listed Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall and new images of one of the fastest developing international cities in the world, Beijing, with its Central Business District, Asian Games Village, city parks and tourist sites. Also highlighted will be the lives of modern Beijingers' Beijing's traditional arts, which are practiced even today. All these have been designed to lure you to get involved in and participate in Beijing's Olympic dream.

Inside the exhibition area, five circular exhibition areas with colour-coordinated walls representing the Olympic Rings will feature models of the Beijing Games' National Stadium (“Bird's Nest”), where the opening and closing ceremonies of the 29th Olympiad will be held and the National Aquatics Centre (“Watercube”), the venue for the Beijing Olympic aquatic events. Beijing Olympic Licensed Products, including Beijing Olympic pins and the Games' mascots, the Friendlies, will be displayed.

Video loops about Beijing and the Beijing Olympic Games will provide audiences with dynamic, moving images of the city and will describe the city's preparations for the 2008 Games.

Print information will be available at the reception area, which will tell Olympic fans everything they want to know about the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics.

Time: April 7–20, 2006
Place: Lifestyle Pavilion, Sydney Olympic Park