HONG KONG | East Asian Games

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Hong Kong wins bid to host 2009 East Asian Games
03 November 2003
http://www.2009eastasiangames.hk/en/...ase.html?id=48





On 3 November 2003, the East Asian Games Association announced in Macau that Hong Kong has won the bid for hosting the 5th East Asian Games in 2009 after it defeated Taipei, leading to the jubilation of the whole city.

On the same day, the 2009 East Asian Games Bid Committee specially held a Lunch Reception at the Government House, in appreciation of the local sports community's support to Hong Kong's successful bid for the East Asian Games.

The occasion was graced by the present of Dr. Patrick Ho, Secretary for Home Affairs of the Home Affairs Bureau and other sports dignitaries.

The Hon. Timothy Fok, who is the Chairman of the Bid Committee and the President of the Federation, took this opportunity to express his thankfulness for the community's support and said "from arranging and hosting the Games will be a strong galvanizing force in our community, boost to the economy as well as an opportunity to revitalize Hong Kong's position as an international city."

The successful bid is only the first step, in future, the Federation will put all efforts to accommodate each challenge under the support from the HKSAR Government, the sports community and the member of public in order to host the best ever East Asian Games in 2009.

[hkskyline]

Sports club plans $300m upgrade - Hostel to provide affordable beds for visiting athletes
11 November 2005
South China Morning Post

One of Hong Kong's oldest sport clubs plans a $300 million expansion to provide a modern training and support facility for athletes taking part in the East Asian Games and other major competitions.

The South China Athletic Association said yesterday the proposed development, to be built on the north grand stand of the soccer pitch at Caroline Hill Road in Causeway Bay, would comprise a clubhouse complex, with a hostel and staff quarters.

New sports and recreational facilities and pro shops would be part of the complex. The 252-room hostel would provide affordable accommodation for visiting athletes.

The sports club, which celebrated its centenary last year, said it had applied to the Town Planning Board to expand its land use rights to include a hotel and residences.

The association said if approval was granted, construction would start late next year and finish in late 2008, in time for the 2009 East Asian Games.

Association chairman Andy Lo Yun-sum said: "The proposed development has been in the pipeline for a while. However, due to the economic downturn in recent years we have not proceeded with it. But with the East Asian Games coming to Hong Kong in 2009 and an improved economy, we feel it is time to implement it.

"We have discussed our plan with the Home Affairs Bureau, which has indicated [its] support, subject to Town Planning Board approval and us resolving the issue of land premium with the Lands Department."

While the project, which the association will finance, has an estimated price tag of $300 million, the amount could go up if the government demands a higher land premium because of the change in land use.

Mr Lo also said it would be too early to predict the occupancy rate of the proposed hostel, but preliminary projections showed it would take between eight and 12 years to break even. He said no decision had been made on whether the sports club would seek an outside partner to run the hostel.

The association hopes the new facilities will boost usage of its current facilities by up to 10 per cent and raise membership from 50,000 to 80,000.

[hkskyline]

3,000 helpers for East Asian Games
16 February 2008
South China Morning Post

More than 3,000 volunteers will be recruited for the 2009 Hong Kong East Asian Games.

Johnny Woo Wai-man, chief executive of the 2009 East Asian Games Company, said yesterday volunteers would be deployed at the events and to help visitors. "The greatest challenge for us is that we have to host many events simultaneously which requires a lot of resources and manpower."

The organiser has teamed up with the Agency for Volunteer Service and universities to recruit helpers. Mr Woo hoped students, especially those majoring in physical education and tourism, could take part. Applications for volunteers will open in mid-April.

The organiser hopes to sign up 1,200 volunteers in the first stage and 1,800 more later in the year. Application details will be available on the Games' website.

The head of Baptist University's physical education department, Chung Pak-kwong, said 70 of the department's 200 students had expressed an interest in volunteering.

The event is expected to draw 3,200 athletes and 800 coaches and staff. The design of the mascot and details of the souvenir shop will be announced next month.

Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, chairman of the Games planning committee, said Beijing had promised to bring its top squad to the Games.

The Games will involve 287 events in 23 sports at 21 venues, including the Hong Kong Coliseum, the Gin Drinker's Bay landfill and the new Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, which will be completed in March next year.

The organiser will invite seven television stations to cover the Games, which will run from December 5 to 13, and hopes all competitions will be covered. The fifth East Asian Games will be the largest ever held and have received HK$35 million of commercial sponsorship from seven partners.

[hkskyline]

Woo desperate to make union work
East Asian Games organiser has a real job on his hands marrying government frugality with corporate benevolence
9 March 2008
South China Morning Post

The countdown clock at the offices of the 2009 East Asian Games (Hong Kong) Ltd in Cotton Tree Drive, Central, has not been switched on. The digital banks are blank.

Down the road, happy couples mark the register at the most auspicious time and hope wedded life will continue to be a bed of roses. A union, of sorts, has also been on the mind of Johnny Woo Wai-man for the past six or seven months.

Ever since he took on the role last August as chief executive officer of the company charged with planning Hong Kong's first major multi-sport event, Woo has been racking his brain and thinking of how to marry government frugality with corporate benevolence and come up with the perfect offspring - a successful East Asian Games.

"We have to show the best of Hong Kong to the world, but we have a shoestring budget to work with," says Woo. "Hong Kong is not like Macau or Doha," he adds wistfully.

In 2005, Macau hosted the fourth East Asian Games in grand style, thanks to bountiful resources and a no-questions-asked attitude from the city's powerbrokers.

In 2006, Doha hosted the Asian Games. It was the most magnificent games in the history of the Olympic Council of Asia. Everything was lavishly laid on by the state of Qatar. Wealth from the world's second largest natural gas deposits made money no object.

"The operational budget for the Macau games was something in the region of HK$500 million. On top of this, the Macau government spent another HK$2.5 billion or so building state-of-the-art sports facilities," Woo said. "The Doha Games had an operational budget of US$200 million."

Woo and his team has a weighty problem as they attempt to steer Hong Kong into uncharted waters. The games have an operational budget of HK$240 million - the government giving HK$123 million with the balance to be raised from commercial sponsorship.

"Legco has already told us we are spending too much money and asked us to raise the other half of our budget from the private sector, the sale of tickets and merchandise, and from television rights," said Woo, a former assistant director with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

However, Woo believes the self-reliant approach advocated by the government (critics might say stingy) has many positives.

"While it is hard trying to convince the commercial sector to give us money, asking them to get involved is not a bad thing. If the whole games were supported by the government, there would be a lack of urgency to get outside involvement. And we need more people to be involved for the games to be a success.

"We are lucky to have got seven partners so far, each of whom have given us HK$5 million. So far we have solicited about HK$60 million. But we have a long way to go yet," Woo, 59, added.

Jumping aboard the East Asian Games bandwagon are diamond sponsors Cathay Pacific, Bank of China, Canon, 3D-Gold, Henderson Land, Mission Hills Golf Club and Fortis Bank.

Nine countries and regions - China, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, Guam and Hong Kong - will take part in 23 sports at next year's games, scheduled for December 5-13. More than 3,200 athletes are expected to take part.

Although the government has been miserly in doling out money, they have undertaken the entire costs of refurbishing and sprucing up ageing sports facilities.

"Upgrading facilities will cost the government HK$800 million," revealed Woo.

Among the venues which will get a facelift and a fresh lick of paint will be the Hong Kong Coliseum, the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the Hong Kong Stadium, the Kowloon Park Indoor Swimming Pool and the Victoria Park tennis courts.

An additional HK$300 million will be spent on providing a new athletic stadium at Tseung Kwan O which can seat around 6,000 fans, as well as a warm-up track nearby. But facilities are not a problem. Woo is confident Hong Kong has the venues to host a triumphant games.

"Our biggest challenge apart from the financial aspect is the organisational side of the games. This will be the first major multi-sports event held in Hong Kong and we will be welcoming more than 3,200 athletes and almost 1,000 media.

"This is all new ground for us. We will be involving the national sports associations as far as competition matters are involved," he added.

Among Woo's growing list of headaches is finding hotel rooms to accommodate the athletes and media, planning the opening and closing ceremonies, and ensuring all the 287 events go off like clockwork.

"We need 14,000 room nights during the games. When the budget for the rooms was done, back in 2004, the Hong Kong economy was in a downturn and rooms cost less. Now they have gone up. We are hoping the hotel sector will support us and get behind the games."

A good night's sleep is a must before the party begins. But Woo and company are still undecided on what shape the party will take place, or where. They only know when it will take place - December 5 for the opening ceremony and December 13 when the games end.

"We are still developing ideas for the opening ceremony. We also haven't decided where the opening ceremony will be held. The only thing decided at the moment is the closing ceremony will be held indoors at the Coliseum," Woo revealed.

A total of 3,000 volunteers will be drafted in to help in the organisational aspect of the games. Recruitment of the first batch will begin next month. Organisers will also look at enlisting young women who will officiate at the medal ceremonies - there will be 287 gold medals handed out - and people with linguistic skills to act as liaison officers with the teams.

"Hong Kong will be the biggest in the history of the East Asian Games, and we are determined to make it a success. We have new sports and more athletes than at past games. It is a huge challenge for all of us, and I hope everyone gets behind and supports the games," said Woo.

He added: "The clock has started ticking."

[hkskyline]

China promises to send its 'A-team'
9 March 2008
South China Morning Post

China has promised to send its best team to Hong Kong for the East Asian Games next December, including most of the medal winners at this summer's Olympic Games.

"We have already got a firm commitment from China's sports minister, Liu Peng, that the mainland will send its best athletes to the East Asian Games," said Johnny Woo Wai-man, chief executive officer of 2009 East Asian Games (HK) Ltd.

"A lot of the athletes who win gold medals in Beijing at the Olympics will be on show in Hong Kong. China has assured us that it won't send a second-class team," added Woo.

When Macau hosted these Games in 2005, the China squad included star 110 metres hurdler Liu Xiang and diving diva Guo Jingjing. They were the dual attractions of the Games, drawing huge crowds.

Woo also pointed out the close relationship Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Hong Kong Olympic Committee and chairman of EAG (HK) Ltd, had with the mainland sports officials would ensure China sends a top-notch team.

"There will be 287 gold medals on offer and China will be the clear favourite to top the medal standings. In Macau, we had 17 sports, while next year we will have six new sports, taking the tally to 23. The Chinese will not only be the crowd favourites, but they will win many medals too," Woo said.

The new sports include bodybuilding, cue sports, cycling, rugby sevens, squash and windsurfing - most of them sports in which Hong Kong are tipped to do well.

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The best that go together.

Take that, you sweet thing!

Life is too short to be serious, laugh it up.

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Mascots for East Asian Games reflect HK spirit, say designers
10 March 2008
South China Morning Post



A pair of white, flame-haired cartoon lion figures have been picked as Hong Kong's "ambassadors" to stoke enthusiasm for the fifth East Asian Games, which are being held in the city next year.

The mascots, named Dony and Ami, were created by local designers David Leung Pak-keung and Mo Mou Pui-kay after eight weeks of research. Dony is a male lion and Ami a female. "Don" and "A" in Cantonese are pronounced the same as the Chinese characters for "East Asia". The designers say the fire and lion reflect the "Hong Kong spirit".

The two product designers, graduates of Polytechnic University, have won a number of awards in Hong Kong and overseas. Recent work includes the MTR Year of the Rat commemorative ticket. Leung said: "Their hair symbolises fire, which represents the vigour and flexibility of Hong Kong people, while their faces radiate the confidence of a lion."

Fellow designer William Tang was unimpressed, saying the mascots were too pale. "It looks like there is no content. The mascots for the Beijing Olympics have more striking colours." Five-year-old Leung Chi-ching agreed. "They are rather cute but their colour is too plain. They should have been given more colourful clothes." However, another renowned designer, Kan Tai-keung, said he liked the simple design because it gave a sense of modernity.

Officiating at yesterday's unveiling ceremony, Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, said: "The mascots will shoulder the responsibility as ambassadors for the [East Asian] Games.

"The 2009 Games will be the first and largest-scale international multi-sport games ever held in Hong Kong. It will certainly have a place of honour in our sports history," said Mr Fok, who also chairs the 2009 Games planning committee. The Games are held every four years, with teams from nine countries or regions taking part next year, including China, Japan and South Korea.

[hkskyline]

By E60 from a Hong Kong discussion forum :

[Kaitak747]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

By E60 from a Hong Kong discussion forum :

Awful !!!!!!!!!!!!!