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Hong Kong officials celebrated the long-awaited announcement Friday that
equestrian events for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be held in the SAR, a
move that will save the mainland an estimated 1.1 billion yuan (HK$1.03
billion) in expenses.
''Today is a milestone for Hong Kong sports history,'' said Secretary for Home
Affairs Patrick Ho. ''As a venue, Hong Kong is in complete accord with Olympic
equestrian standards,'' he said, adding that the events will boost the
''Olympic spirit'' in the city.
''We are delighted,'' said Beijing Olympics organizing committee vice-president
Wang Wei, adding that this is the ''best possible solution.''
''Let me be very clear in that everyone would have wished that the competition
could have been in Beijing,'' International Olympic Committee president Jacques
Rogge said in Singapore, where the decision was announced.
''Sanitary problems make this very difficult and by mutual agreement [the
groups] have decided to move [the events] to Hong Kong,'' he said.
Beijing organizers have said there are ''uncertainties'' with equine diseases
and ''major difficulties in establishing a disease-free zone.''
The move to Hong Kong will also save Beijing an estimated 1.1 billion yuan, the
amount Games organizers had estimated it would cost to upgrade equestrian
facilities in Beijing, according to previous tendering documents posted online
by Beijing Global Strategy Consulting that summarized ''pre-qualification''
tender documents issued by the municipal government in 2002.
Beijing has been working to scale back its original 24 billion yuan construction
program for the Games as part of an effort to cool capital investment.
The city was to build 18 sports facilities, but plans for five have been
scrapped. Existing facilities will be upgraded or temporary structures built
instead.
The equestrian competition was originally scheduled for the Beijing Country
Equestrian Park in an area 34 kilometers from the Olympic Village. Instead
riders and their mounts will travel to Hong Kong to compete for six medals over
three days.
It all looks like a win-win solution for local sports mavens wanting to share
Olympic glory and Beijing officials with an eye on the bottom line.
Jockey Club chairman Ronald Arculli said he is delighted by the news.
He said the club would spend HK$700 million to HK$800
million to build the needed facilities.
A 20,000-seat competition arena for the dressage and
showjumping events will be built near Sha Tin Racecourse, and part of the
adjacent Hong Kong Sports Institute and Penfold Park will also be used.
A second arena will involve a 6.5-kilometer
cross-country course along Beas River and the Hong Kong Golf Club at Fan Ling.
It has been estimated that about 300 horses and 1,150
athletes will come to Hong Kong for the three-day events.
The events should bring in up to 30,000 people -
spectators, staff, and the media.
Ho predicts the events will generate HK$100 million to
HK$300 million for the economy, mainly from tourists.
He said there is as yet no need to use public money
and that the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
has promised to defray part of the operational costs for the events.
The IOC decision was not welcomeed by the equestrian
community in Beijing.
``[I am] disappointed,'' Darren Deng, a worker at the
capital's Equuleus Equestrian International Riding Club, told The Standard,
adding that he believes the result shows that there is a long way to go before
horse-related sports blossom in the mainland.
Cheng Yu, an officer with the Beijing Turf and
Equestrian Association, said he now shares the feelings of disappointed
Parisians who lost out to London in their bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.
``My feelings now are the same as Paris [people],'' he
said. ``If they fail, they [Hong Kong organizers] will have great
responsibility.''
Five other cities - Qingdao, Tianjin, Qinhuangdao,
Shenyang and Shanghai - will co-host sailing and soccer events.
The International Equestrian Federation has long
opposed the plan but wished Hong Kong ``all the best.''
dennis.chong@singtaonewscorp.com
zach.coleman@singtaonewscorp.com
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