Friday, June 6, 2008

Official Olympic Cheer

BBC Article
Beijing Olympic chiefs are introducing an official cheer for patriotic spectators to spur on Team China at the Games, Chinese media reports.

The authoritative, four-part Olympic cheer, accompanied by detailed instructions, will be promoted on TV, in schools and with a poster campaign.

It involves clapping twice, giving the thumbs-up, clapping twice more and then punching the air with both arms.

The cheer is accompanied by chants of "Olympics", "Let's go" and "China".

The Beijing Olympic Organising Committee has hired 30 cheering squads who will show spectators how it is done at Games stadia, reports Xinhua state media.

'Civilized cheering'

A committee official said the simple chants and gestures were designed to help spectators cheer for their favourite athletes in a smooth, civilized manner.

The Ministry of Education is also arranging special training sessions in schools for the 800,000 students who are expected to attend the Games.

Li Ning, president of the Beijing Etiquette Institute, told the Beijing News that the cheer was in line with general international principles for cheering, while at the same time possessing characteristics of Chinese culture.

Is there anything in China that the communist government is willing to give up control? Are they going to toss Olympic fans into labor camps if they clap three times or flash an unofficial hand sign in the middle of the cheer? They probably formed a huge committee, including lots of official lunches/dinners, to come up with this smooth+civilized cheer, not to mention the "30 cheering squads" helping people to master the cheer.

There are a lot of people in China, and they all need jobs.

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