Former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch said on Sunday that
he believes the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing would be the best
ever in Olympic history.
"I would like to repeat I am sure that the Olympic Games in
Beijing will be the best in Olympic history," said Samarach when
addressing the opening ceremony of the World Olympic Collectors
Fair in the Chinese capital.
Part of the fifth 2008 Olympic Cultural Festival, the fair is
being held in China for the first time, featuring a large display
of pins, stamps, coins and other memorabilia bearing the Olympic
rings. Other items on display will include Olympic torches,
trophies and warm-up suits. There will also be a collection of
Olympic-related stamps donated by Samaranch to the Lausanne-based
Olympic museum.
Over 320 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions will display
their Olympic collections.
Olympic pin trading has become a tradition, arising from the
first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece, where athletes, officials
and judges exchanged cards with their names and titles affixed.
Beijing Olympic organizers launched a pin-designing contest in
May, welcoming people from all over China to share ideas about the
Beijing Games. The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG) has
issued over 500 types of Olympic pins with the figure expected to
reach 4,000.
(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2007)