The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) announced on Wednesday that from May 23 to June 25, 2007, it is organizing a bid across the nation for the design scheme of the victory ceremony hosts/hostess costumes for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

 

The complete set of the costumes includes the medal/flower bearer costume (for ladies), the presenter escort costume (for ladies), the athlete escort costume (for ladies) and the flag bearer costume (for men). The style and color of the costumes should be in conformity with the image and look of the Beijing Olympic Games and with the environment of the victory ceremony. The material and means of artistic expression should highlight "Chinese elements, national characteristics and features of the time," with the aim of becoming the carriers of the Olympic spirit, the spreaders of the Chinese culture and the messengers of the concepts of the Beijing Games, thus leaving a precious legacy to the Olympic movement.

 

BOCOG will publish the procedure and submission form through the official website of the Beijing Olympic Games (www.beijing2008.cn). While opening the campaign to all members of society, BOCOG will also have recourse to specific associations to invite professional design organizations to join the campaign. All contesting works shall enjoy equal rights of appraisal in the evaluation process. The participants can send their design schemes for one or more costumes but each costume is limited to one design scheme.

 

The participants should carefully read the invitation letter and submit the complete set of legal documents, including the signed authorization letter, the participant's reply letter and the mandate of creation contract, together with the registration form and design schemes, to the registration address.

 

After the deadline, the preliminary evaluation committee will choose the design schemes of 50 sets for each of the four costume categories (200 sets in total) and bring them to the second round of appraisal. The appraisal committee will be co-chaired by Jiang Xiaoyu, BOCOG executive vice-president and Lu Hao, vice mayor of Beijing. The committee's members include costume design experts and renowned Chinese artists, as well as specialists in Olympic Games Image and Look.

 

The appraisal committee will pick ten sets for each category (max. 40 sets) from the shortlisted entries and present them to the BOCOG Executive Board, which will determine one first prize, two second prizes, as well as third prize winning schemes for each category. BOCOG will subsequently award prizes and certificates to the winners.

 

(BOCOG May 23, 2007)