The theme song for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be chosen from the "Olympic songs" BOCOG is now seeking from across the world in a five-year project.

The announcement was made by Sun Weijia, deputy director of the Media & Communications Department, at a press conference held by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

The campaign will kick off on April 15, 2003 and is to last till 2007. Each year, 10 songs will be selected as "Olympic songs". By 2008, the theme song for the Beijing Olympics will be picked from the 50 Olympic songs that will have been chosen during the five years. It is hoped that the theme song will not only reflect the Chinese culture and the Olympic spirit, but also become popular with the people around the world.

The campaign is jointly organized by BOCOG, the Chinese Musicians Association under the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Radio Beijing, the capital city's leading broadcaster. Beijing Music Radio under Radio Beijing is entrusted with the operation of the project.

"The Olympic Games is not only a display of sports skills, it is also the embodiment of the host country or host city's cultural heritage," Wu Yanze, vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and a well-known singer himself, said at the press conference. "Music, as a borderless artistic form, is definitely one of the most dynamic cultural partners in the modern Olympics."

Wu said Chinese musicians had created a large number of world-class works in the history of music, such as "Reflection of the Moon in the `Erquan` Spring" , "Butterfly Lovers" and "Jasmine Blossom" , which had provided inspirations for many musicians in the world. Most recently, Chinese musicians composed some excellent pieces for the XI Asian Games (1990, Beijing) and during Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games.

He called on Chinese musicians to work harder to create better and more passionate Olympic songs that would best reflect the features of our age.

According to BOCOG, this year, the deadline for submission is August 31. Selection procedure starts in September. Details for the campaign are available on www.beijing-olympic.org.cn or www.fm974.tom.cn.

The official Olympic anthem was adopted at the 55th IOC Session held in Tokyo, Japan in 1958. It is usually played or sung at the opening ceremony of each Olympic Games when the Olympic flag is hoisted. Each host country or city would create an Olympic theme song to best reflect the country/city's unique culture and human being's pursuit of the Olympic spirit. So far the most popular Olympic theme song is "Hand in Hand", which was composed for the 1988 Olympics held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea.

For further information, please contact :

Feng Qihua, Media & Communications department, BOCOG

Tel: 8610-84022008-88142

Email: fengqihua@beijing-olympic.org.cn

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