Elias Makori
23 August 2008
Beijing — After 24 days of high adrenalin action, the curtain finally comes down on the Games of the 29th Olympiad with the closing ceremony on Sunday night at the "Bird's Nest", Beijing's National Olympic Stadium.
It's being reported that British hip-hop dance group, ZooNation, will join the Royal Ballet and Candoco, a disabled dance group in an eight-minute performance as part of the ceremony.
The Olympic flag will be handed over to organisers of the London 2012 Olympic Games who have a huge task ahead of them going by the big success of the Beijing Olympics.
English football star, David Beckham, is also expected to play a role in tonight's ceremony. Former 800 metres world champion, Sebastian Coe, heads the London 2012 team.
Free air tickets for life for Indian medallist
Saturday's edition of the Olympian, a daily English pullout in the China Daily newspaper, reported that a low-cost Indian airline, SpiceJet Limited, has offered freestyle wrestler Sushil Kumar, who won a bronze medal, free travel on the airline for the rest of his life.
The paper says the wrestler was handed the "Flying for Life" recognition for his achievement in a nation starved of Olympic success.
"Sportsmen like Sushil Kumar and Abhinav Bindra (air rifle shooting Olympic gold medallist) have paved the path for more success to follow," the airline's chief commercial officer Samyukth Sridharan said. Kenya Airways, Jetlink, Fly 540, et al, are you there?
Zimbabwe star looking for a Chinese wife
The Beijing Times reports that Zimbabwe's 200 metres finalist Lewis Banda is hunting for a Chinese wife after failing to get a medal at the Beijing Games. The paper says Banda has visited China several times now and is interested in its women.
The paper quotes the sprinter as saying that his future wife "should be tall, natural and friendly rather than too pretty." Banda promises a decent living for his bride in Zimbabwe where he is a billionaire, thanks to the country's record inflation rate.
Banda has circulated his email address in China for potential brides to drop him a line. More news from the Olympic Village says that Hollywood star Tom Cruise is pitching to play Michael Phelps in the history-making American swimmers planned feature movie.
Woman's TV addiction has family worried
A 100-year-old woman living in the Jiangsu province of China has become so addicted to the Olympic Games' television broadcasts that she has her family worrying.
Press reports say that Dang Cuiying sits all day cheering on athletes and even refuses to take breaks. Even after her family forces her out of the TV room, she sneaks back to get more of the action.
A clever thought has crossed her family's minds and they now pulled the television's antenna off its socket and now pretend that there's no signal!
Incidentally, the Chinese national broadcaster, CCTV, mainly shows live Olympic action that involves Chinese contestants in a bid to whip up national pride.
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