Abstract

Cultural traditions and new technology will go hand-in-hand in Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as the day-to-day delivery of Beijing 2008 Olympics. Professor Sam Carter, will explore Eastern and Western cultural traditions in this era of global culture. Olympic ceremonies will celebrate Olympic culture, its traditions and new developments along with the cultures of The People＊s Republic of China and other participating nations. This visual presentation will provide innovative and practical design concepts for the integration and interactivity of global culture for residents, visitors, television and internet viewers around the world.

 Global Culture and the Olympics

 Global cultural traditions and new technology go hand-in-hand in the design and production of opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympic Games. These events are broadcast to the world＊s largest audiences. The Sydney Olympics reached over 3.7 billion people in all parts of globe.

 The Olympics are celebrations of humanity, culture, sport and remarkable efforts of individuals and teams from around the world. This international forum, organized by the Humanistic Olympics Studies Center of Renmin University of China, Beijing Party＊s Committee and City Government, will contribute to independent academic studies concerned with People＊s Olympics. Today＊s conference will contribute to studies and applications to Beijing 2008 and to future Olympics.

 The forum＊s theme, The Plurality of Creativity: the Olympic Spirit and Oriental Culture, presented at Renmin University of China, Beijing, June 23 and 24, 2004, includes a range of topics for discussion concerned with the Olympic spirit (Olympism) and Olympic culture, Eastern and Western culture, global culture, heritage, education and interpretation of themes for the Beijing 2008 Olympics: Green Olympics; Hi-tech Olympics; and People＊s Olympics.

 This visual presentation explores examples of past Olympic events and projects that involved students and professionals in education, research and development in recent years. Projects underway are highlighted to continue involvement and participation of youth, artists, designers and performers to celebrate Olympism, sports, play and other cultural traditions in this era of global culture. Images and ideas in this presentation are credited to students in China and abroad, broadcasts and publications by Olympic scholars, interaction with athletes, volunteers, organizers and officials associated with the Olympic movement.

 Vancouver 2010 Olympic Design Conference

 Today＊s presentation shares information about the recent conference (June 9, 2004) titled The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Design Conference〞Designing for the World, held in Vancouver, Canada. Many of the topics for today＊s conference were discussed there. The June 9 conference featured a presentation from Teodora Mantazaris-Kindel, image and identity manager, Athens 2004, on Design Overview. Andrea Varnier; image and communications managing director, Torino 2006, along with Wei Yew, author of The Olympic Image, spoke on History of Olympic Design. Additional presentations concerning global corporate culture included Jennifer Rowland, Visa International, and Linda Harmon on Vancouver 2010, The Olympic Brand in Canada; Christy McLeod, Meridian Management, International Olympic Committee (IOC), The Power of the Olympic Brand, and introductions from John Furlong, CEO of Vancouver 2010. Many spoke about Olympism and the vision of Pierre De Coubertin and the impact of the Olympics on world peace.

 The recent Vancouver conference launched the Vancouver 2010 Emblem Design Competition and informed participants about processes so important to the IOC and organizers and producers of the Olympics.

 Beijing 2008 Symposim on Digital Film and Television

 The Beijing 2008 Symposium on Digital Film and Television (November 2003) brought together experts from many parts of the globe to discuss issues and approaches to the orchestration and broadcast of the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

 In the tradition of Olympism, the Beijing 2008 Olympic ceremonies will celebrate Olympic culture, the origins and development of Olympism and the diverse cultures of Beijing, the People＊s Republic of China and participating nations. Over the centuries, the Zizhong Lantern Festival has created beautifully crafted lanterns for this auspicious event. This Eastern (Asian) tradition celebrates light with lanterns, just as the Olympic torch celebrates light.

 Lantern and Torches

 Lanterns and Torches, part of the title of this presentation, provide perfect symbolism for Olympism and plurality of creativity, East and West. The juxtaposition of chopsticks and knives and forks, rice and flour, tea and coffee are well-recognized symbols of Eastern and Western food culture. Symbols, patterns, colour and form are a visual language, a universal language that may transcend borders. Or they may be interpreted differently. For example, red is the favoured colour for a wedding dress in Asia; in the West, it is white. The ※hidden dimensions§ of visual language, including visual art, sport, dance, movement and music, must be researched and understood for any global production.

 Eastern and Western

 One primary distinction between Eastern and Western language and culture is that Chinese and other Asian languages are pictographic, using visual images to express a thought or word. Western languages are primarily sound-oriented without pictographic images. Pictograms from past Olympics and those being designed for future Olympics draw inspiration from regional traditions even though they are created for global audiences and multimedia delivery.

 Global Culture and the Olympics- Museum on the Streetsi Opening and Closing Ceremonies

 The presentation today offers many images, mostly without words, that express Olympism and development around the globe. This presentation features the work of art and design students in China, and artists-designers from other parts of the globe. Part of the presentation focuses on ideas for global culture and how they may be shared with people on the streets as well as spectators at Olympic venues and those connected by the Internet and television. Global culture kiosks that create a ※street museum§ would be placed on the streets of Beijing and would allow people to learn more about participating nations. For today＊s presentation I have selected a number of themes closely associated with Asian-Chinese cultural traditions〞China (or ceramics) and Textiles〞that would be celebrated with one example of ceramics and one example of textiles from each participating nation. Along with these artifacts, one example of children＊s art would be displayed with an interactive digital presentation about the culture of each nation. These images would be incorporated into the opening and closing ceremonies to provide colour and artistic patterns and forms along with information from a global perspective.Olympic opening ceremonies in the past demonstrated diverse approaches to design and production. As time progresses, these events become more global. I have provided notes from each opening ceremony in today＊s presentation: Lillehamer每Living Museum; Montreal每Global Television; Seoul每Folkloric Festival; Sydney每Storytelling; Albertville每 Fantastic Circus; Los Angeles每Spaceman; Calgary每People Round Up; and Moscow每 Folk Dance.

 International Student Involvement

 Examples of sketches from art and design students from Tsinghua University, Beijing (2002), along with sketches from students at Emily Carr Institute, Vancouver (2003), provide insights into young people＊s involvement in all aspects of Olympic culture. An ※Olympic summer camp§ is being developed to provide opportunities to learn about Olympic traditions, protocols and the many aspects of the event＊s delivery and, at the same time, interact and work with people from all parts of the globe.

 Well-known artists and designers in Canada offer their expertise to assist in the organization of global cultural components for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Included in the presentation are Ian Verchere, video game artist; Rick Harry, First Nations artist and designer of Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Games pictographs; Joanna Stanizskis, textile artist; Paul Mathieu, ceramic artist; and Ron Burnett, president of Emily Carr Institute, Vancouver. In the coming semester a special course on Olympic design will begin at the Emily Carr Institute.

 Summary

 This paper is a summary of recent research, writings, workshops and conferences concerned with the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The visual presentation is centred on aspects of design and production process of Olympic global cultural components, Olympism, IOC protocols, design and delivery of the Beijing 2008 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies and global cultural activities.

 In conclusion, the definition of Olympism from the New Zealand Olympic Web site provides a concise overview of Olympic culture:

 Ancient Olympism

Olympism has its roots in the beliefs of the ancient Greeks who encouraged people to develop their physical, moral, intellectual, cultural and artistic qualities harmoniously. This meant taking part in a blend of sport, art, educational and cultural activities. This philosophy was celebrated through the Olympic Games, a festival involving athletes, scholars and artists from many cultural fields.

 Modern Olympism

Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, who in 1894 established the Olympic movement, is recognized as the father of modern Olympism. He modernized ancient Greek ideals and launched them to the rest of the world through the staging of a modern Olympic Games. Today, the festival celebrates the ideals that remain at the heart of Olympism. By blending sport with culture and education, Olympism promotes a way of life based on:

﹞        The balanced development of the body, will and mind

﹞        The joy found in effort

﹞        The educational value of being a good role model

﹞        Respect for universal ethics including tolerance, generosity, unity, friendship, non-discrimination and respect for others

Goal of Olympism

Olympism uses sport to promote the balanced development of people as an essential step in building a peaceful society that places a high value on human dignity.