Olympic Fever

While American’s are being frightened by the prospects of avian flu, the Chinese are being hounded with Olympic Fever. I got a dose on the Friday night prime-time TV when Ian and I caught a glimpse of what’s to come as the Committee That Does These Things unveiled the Olympic Mascot.
Every country creates one, not that they are particularly memorable. I mean, does anyone recall the “94 Olympics? America hosted them and Sam, the bald eagle, wrapped in the flag, was ours.
Sam showed up at this ceremony with Misha the Russian Bear, the Homer Simpson-looking guy from Spain and a bunch of others. After years spent in some Olympic-sized storage locker, they came out to welcome the Chinese mascot.
Only there are five, which stands to reason. With 1.3 billion people, China’s five characters give the country roughly the same per-capita mascot density as America had. I can’t help but think though that this is just the start of China’s effort to do everything Olympic bigger and better than anyone ever before. Then again, Australia escalated the game, releasing three mascots,* according to the official news release that began like this:
BEIJING Nov. 11(Xinhuanet) “To the surprise of all, Beijing unveiled…”
Surprise? Okay, Xinhua is the official Chinese news agency. Maybe they meant to the surprise of everyone in the newsroom.
Anyway, China has good reason: “We decided to produce five mascots,” says the chief designer, “because we think no single figure can embody China’s profound diversity and culture.” The country does span five time zones, even though there is only one.
The Five Friendlies (honest!) come in Olympic colors and have rhyming names. Beibei is a blue carp, Jingjing, is a black and green panda, representing happiness and hospitality. Huanhuan is red and looks like a flaming torch, Yingying is a yellow Tibetan Antelope and Nini is a swallow. Their names, taken together, spell “Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -Welcome to Beijing.” I think the animals, taken together, would make a traditional holiday meal, but no one mentioned that.
And not only are they color coordinated, they represent the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky, nearly identical to Traditional Chinese Medicine’s water, wood, fire, metal and air. There are tie-ins everywhere.
I’m no doubt going to hear a lot from these characters and now you may too. The marketing is already geared up, with 188 official stores. “The launch of the mascot will push sales of Olympic products to new heights,” a spokesman said, eyeing the $200 million that the Athens Olympics made on plastic junk. And with stuff priced from a dollar on up, there’s something for nearly every Chinese, even if a dollar is a large fraction of some citizen’s daily income.
Even IOC president Jacques Rogge sent his regards, though not in person: “I love them,” he said in a letter read on stage, adding that they will spread Chinese blessings the world over.
I suspect he likes them because being plastic, they won’t demand bribes. This wasn’t covered in the news release, but every serious project in China, from opening a new yoga studio to building a stadium requires payments to the “Chinese Mafia” also known as the government. Salaries for government workers are so low, the employees have become like private consultants, steering projects around numerous roadblocks, for a fee. It drives honest businessmen bonkers. I heard a rumor that a project that billed 20 million yuan to a western retailer was completed for 2 million, the other 18 million being eaten by sharks who passed the project down the line, each taking a 2 million yuan cut. It’s scary to think what corners got cut along the way as contractors here are notorious for shabby work, but I will leave that for another story.
Instead, I’ll leave you with a slightly more eerie element from the mascot launch. I think it is the motto for these diversity-embracing games: “One world…one dream.” The Chairman would approve.


* In case you are wondering whom to blame all this mascot stuff on, it is of course the fault of the French. In 1968, they revealed Schuss, the winter games mascot. But the Germans get some of the blame too, Their dachshund Waldi was the first “official” mascot of the memorable and tragic 1972 games in Munich.

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