What happened to the Olympic rings? Beijing obviously decided, a long time ago, to advertise ‘Beijing 2008’ with little reference to the Olympics. China is a sovereign nation. They can do as they wish. And they have.

 

On the road to and from the airport to the city, there is the perfunctory Olympic signage on every light pole for a couple of miles. They show the rings, the ‘Beijing 2008’ font, and the modern-art stick figure athlete that Olympics fans like me have come to identify with these games.

 

Indeed, the ‘Beijing 2008’ and the stick-figure guy are the property of China, designed and decided in China, by China, in 2002. No problem. Every host country does it this way. But at every Olympics I have been to over the last twenty years, every country has prominently, and repetitively, used the Olympic rings – the property of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) – in their advertising, signage and marketing. Not so this year.

 

There is a simple explanation for this different focus. Beijing is in charge. Any royalties to the IOC are minimized. Any hold that the IOC might have on the activity in question is minimized. Beijing has the games, plays by the IOC rules where it must, but maximizes the control that it maintains. This is not an inherent criticism. But it surely gives the games a different feel from the past....…

 

A visitor from Mars might ask; "Where are the Olympics being held this year?" And a veteran of other Olympics, like me, might observe; "How can they hold the Olympics while scarcely acknowledging that they ARE the Olympics?"