Hong Kong gears up for Olympics role
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Capitalist Hong Kong, famed for its world-class horse racing culture, will host Olympic equestrian events in the August 2008 Games, after Beijing said it couldn't guarantee a disease-free area for horses in the capital.
The controversial decision to give the former British colony this task puts it among a select clutch of Chinese cities outside of Beijing that will have an Olympic role, including Qingdao for water sports.
"It's a rare privilege," said Timothy Fok, an International Olympic Committee member who heads Hong Kong's Olympic Committee.
"It's a great catalyst to improve our sports and increase the confidence of our young people," Fok said.
But with a year to go, there's been little apparent buzz on the city's streets about it.
"Hong Kong people don't care much about this, nor are we too concerned about sports in general," said Alien Cheng, an office worker rushing off for lunch. Others said it was an honor for the city, which Britain handed back to China in 1997.
"China is our motherland, and in previous Olympics when Chinese athletes won medals I'd be happy. So by successfully hosting an Olympics event, as a Hong Kong-Chinese person I'd feel very proud," said Tim Hon, 19, who was jogging past the towering Olympic countdown clock in Kowloon Park.
Hong Kong's Jockey Club has bankrolled and almost completed the construction of the Olympic equestrian facilities, including an arena and a cross-country track partly built over a golf course that will be used for a test event this weekend.
"They really want to have the Olympics here in Hong Kong and the facilities here are great," said German rider Anna Junkmann, who will compete with her horse Cancun in the Good Luck Beijing event on Saturday. "The stables are even air-conditioned, so the horses are well looked after," she added.
Equestrian consists of three disciplines: Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is the only Olympics discipline pairing humans with animals and one of the rare sports where men and women compete on equal terms.
