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BEIJING 2008: Rogge In Hong Kong


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The IOC President, Jacques Rogge, was in Hong Kong this weekend and took the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the Beas River Cross Country Course, where the cross country portion of the Good Luck Beijing HKSAR 10th Anniversary Celebration Invitation Cup Eventing Competition was taking place, and where the cross country events at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will also be held. During his stay, the IOC President also met with members of the Hong Kong Sports Community, with a High Official of the HKSAR Government and with a group of local sports media.

Good Luck Beijing
The Good Luck Beijing HKSAR 10th Anniversary Celebration Invitation Cup Eventing Competition ran from 11 to 13 August 2007 and gave the Organisers of the Beijing Olympic Games the opportunity to test the new equestrian venues in Hong Kong and some operational aspects of their planning with the Games just under one year away. The competition was held at the new Sha Tin venue, which hosted jumping and dressage, while cross country was held at the temporary Beas River course. This is just one of a number of Good Luck Beijing sports events being held between now and the Games to test facilities and operations ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Meetings
During his stay in Hong Kong, President Rogge met with a number of different local personalities, notably the Acting Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Government - the Honourable Henry Tang, representatives from some of Hong Kong’s most respected media outlets and members of the Hong Kong Sports Community. These meetings covered a wide range of sports related topics and allowed the President and the local sports community to exchange thoughts on the Games and sports in Hong Kong in general.

Hong Kong and the 2008 Olympic Games
It was during the IOC Session in Singapore in 2005 that it was announced that Hong Kong would play host to the equestrian events of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. This move came following discussions between the IOC, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Organising Committee (BOCOG) and was made in the best interests of the competition and the well being of the horses. This is not the first time that equestrian events will be held on the territory of a National Olympic Committee (NOC), which is outside the NOC territory of the Games host city. This was also the case in 1956, when the equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden, while the Games themselves were in Melbourne, Australia. During the Games next year, the equestrian events in Hong Kong will run from 9 to 21 August and will comprise the three Olympic disciplines of jumping, dressage and eventing.

Beijing 2008
The Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 will take place from 8 to 24 August 2008. The Games in Beijing will play host to the 28 summer sports currently on the Olympic programme. Approximately 10,500 athletes are expected to participate in the Games with around 20,000 accredited media bringing the Games to the world.



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