Crowd Control

Tonight was a visit to Beijing's water cube to watch some of the swimming competitions. Although Canada has performed extremely well in swimming, there were few Canadians competing in tonight's races. However, we did get to cheer on Benoit Huot, who won bronze in his 400 metre race.



The amazing thing about being at the Beijing Paralympics (among other things) is the remarkable participation and energy of the locals in attendance. The stands are always packed, and the crowds cheer on the races, especially when China participates (and often wins - they're in the lead for medal wins, coming from 'out of nowhere', as one colleague put it, in Paralympic sport).

The Chinese have been criticized in the western media for filling the stands with workers and students, as if that's not a valuable audience for the events. That may be the case to a certain degree (I've seen a few yellow shirts emblazoned with "Chinese Workers Cheering for China"), but most of the spectators are regular Beijing residents, who perhaps couldn't access or couldn't afford Olympic times tickets - or are simply interested in the Paralympics. And let me tell you, never seen a more enthusiastic and engaged audience. Standing in the Olympic Green, you can hear roars echoing from the Bird's Nest Stadium, and tonight the Water Cube was alive with cheers. This is not a passive crowd, uninterested in the sport and taking only direction from an unseen force. This is an audience truly loving the sport and the athletes they're watching.



Outside of the events, the Olympic Green (the massive campus where most of the venues are located) is filled with life; families strolling, taking photos, touring pavilions, and taking in the atmosphere. This stands in sharp contrast to the stories my colleagues brought back from the Olympic period, when the access to the green was minimal and you could send an out-of-control bus through the area and not hit a soul. But now, this massive area of wide squares and long promenades is truly being used and enjoyed. The sense that the Paralympics has become the 'people's games' is strong for me, and I hope the legacy of being exposed to such remarkable and interesting sport is one that lasts for this city.

Tonight the sky is clear, the air is warm and the sight of the full moon rising over the Birds Nest Stadium is beautiful. I feel very luck to be here.



PS excuse the blurry pics on Flickr, I'm operating without the benefit of a tripod. Or time.