Beijing 2008 Olympics Games

Description

The Vanuatu National Olympic Committee was established in March 1987, a year later we participated in our first Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.  The main sport representing the country at this level since 1988 has been athletics; initially our competitors were ‘wildcards’ permitted by the International Athletics Federation. In 2000, Vanuatu qualified an athlete on merit for the first-time at the Sydney Games in the sport of Archery. This year’s Olympic Games in Beijing will see Vanuatu participating in athletics and for the first-time in table-tennis. The participating athletes for the 2008 Team Vanuatu to this year’s Games are Priscilla Tommy (Table-Tennis), Moses Kamut and Arnold Sorina (Athletics).

As a member of the International Olympic Committee, the values of the Vanuatu Association of Sports And National Olympic Committee (VASANOC) are enshrined in the Principles of Olympism from the Olympic Charter.

The 2008 Summer Olympics officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad will be celebrated from 08 – 24 August where athletes will compete in 302 events in 28 sports. The Olympic Games were awarded to Beijing, People’s Republic of China after an exhaustive ballot of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 13 July, 2001. The official logo of the Games, titled “Dancing Beijing” features a stylised calligraphic character jīng (meaning capital), referencing the host city. The mascots of Beijing 2008 are the five Fuwa, each representing one colour of the Olympic Rings. The Olympic slogan, One World, One Dream, calls upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit. The centrepiece of the 2008 Summer Olympics will be the Beijing National Stadium, nicknamed the "Bird Nest" because of its nest-like skeletal structure. Construction of the venue began in late 2003.