Royals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics


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Queen Sonja of Norway took a day of from sports and visited the scenic Summer Palace in Beijing on August 14th, 2008. Photography is one of her favorite hobbies and she took the opportunity to take many photos during her visit. The Queen and King of Norway are in China because of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

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anp
 
Ok, I sorry if this has been asked before. why does the yellow tag that Mary, fred and W-A and m have different letters on them. W-A and M have IOC on them and M and F have NOC on them. I do not understand why? I one more important than the other?
 
Ok, I sorry if this has been asked before. why does the yellow tag that Mary, fred and W-A and m have different letters on them. W-A and M have IOC on them and M and F have NOC on them. I do not understand why? I one more important than the other?
ICO = International Olympic Committee, Prince Willem-Alexander is a member and thus he is accredited via them. NOC = National Olympic Committee, that's via what most VIP's are accredited, like non IOC-member royals and the NOC's corporate sponsor guests etc.
 
Roger Federer

So sad that Roger Federer lost before the "grande finale". It is rule of life to eventually have to hand to someone else the number one crown, but it sure was hard for him to lose before that final. Federer is a great athlete and gentleman, as well as Nadal. I admire them both equally because of their gift and their nice personalities. :flowers:
 
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so does ico member get something like better seats and get to attend more events, while NOC member get 2nd best so to speak?
 
I don't think that China should have been awarded the games in the first place. It's been a comedy of errors from the get go.

First the pollution, then the Chinese government felt affronted when the American athletes wore breathing masks (when the great majority of their own citizens do the same), then they clean out the city and refuse travel permits to anyone they think might protest anything, then they block access to websites (amnesty international, etc) because they say that those websites are a threat to the National Security, and last but by no means least, they insert one little girl to lip sync a song, because the little girl singing the song was not "cute" enough, and that was supposedly in the nations best interest? And don't even get me started on teh female gymnasts from China. I was a gymnast, and competed on the elite level, similar to the current olympians, although I never went to the olympics, and if those girls are all 16, I am a purple elephant. True. The Chinese gymnasts are small, but generally they even have some curves, and they always have all of their adult teeth, something which one of these girls seems to be missing. Yep, if people believe that they are all 16 then I have a very valuable magic wand and a few royal titles I would like to sell to those people.

Ugh! I could not agree with you more on this. Especially the gymnasts. Don't get me wrong, the Chinese girls did a fantastic job and our girls choked. However, pretending that they are 16 is an insult to our intelligence. I think the age limit is silly in the first place. I can understand they it was put into place to protect the atheletes somewhat, but if a 12 yr old gymnast is just that good, then she deserves to compete at her appropriate level.
 
so does ico member get something like better seats and get to attend more events, while NOC member get 2nd best so to speak?
No, they're all seated in the same VIP area.

The members of the International Olympic Committee though have official roles during the Olympics, the IOC is the governing body of the Olympics so they have participated in choosing the host, preparations in the country etc, they also often award medals, and they take part in the International Olympic Committe's meetings held in Beijing in connection to the Olympics.

The NOC's are the Olympic body/representative in each IOC member country, they are the ones who decide which athletes can particpate etc and organize the country's delegation. The NOC's also nominate candidate cities.
 
Did CP Frederik not attend this Denmark event to see his 1st Cousin ???
I am not sure; there were pics in Danish TV this afternoon where Frederik watched Peter Gade's badminton match against Chinese Lin Dan.
 
Princess Nathalie von Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Digby during the Dressage Grand Prix - Prince Philippos of Greece, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and Princess Benedikte of Denmark watching
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President Lamine Diack talks with Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock before the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) dinner on August 14, 2008 in Beijing
Getty Images
Former pole vaulting great and IOC executive board member Sergei Bubka talks with Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock
Getty Images
About Letizia, it´s easy to understand that she returned home to her daughters, especially because Felipe left to a four-day-trip to Paraguay and Dominican Republic. The children need their parents. According to spanish papers Queen Sofia and the Dukes of Palma arrive to Beijing at the weekend.
 
Just watched a very affectionate uncle, King Konstantine, give Natalie her medal - and lots of kisses :flowers:

Oh yes! It was nice!:wub:
I saw the winner honour live on TV! King Constantine was very pround on Natalie. Actually King Constantine should overgive the gold-medal but the comitee changed protocoll because Natalie won the bronze-medal.
 
Well, a 12 year old gymnast who is that good, has been ripped from her family, and does not really have any life outside of gymnastics, and is attempting skills that are far beyond what she should be doing, given that she is still growing and her bones are soft. Like I said, I was a gymnast, and I just don't think that 12 year olds are mentally or physically ready to compete on such a level.. Neither does CNN either for that matter:

Chinese news service cited gymnast as 13 - 2008 Olympics - SI.com

I'm not sure I even believe that they were 13.

None the less, the rule was in place, and China clearly flouted that and cheated. They are in their own country and have the backing of a corrupt government that will clearly do anything to win. I hate to imagine the pressure that these Chinese competitors are under if they fail.
 
Somehow I don't think telling the little girl she wasn't cute enough for tv isn't going to harm her self-esteem the way it would here in the west. I think they tend to have "for the good of the country" drilled into them so much that whatever a person is told is for the good of the country is accepted. But hopefully they told her parents and not her so they could shield her from it.

But back to the Golden Boy Michael Phelps. I'm starting to get sick of hearing about him so dang much! Yes, he's great blah blah blah. Hey, there are other athletes and other sports here! Here's an interesting story about what he eats every day -
OLYMPIC GOLDEN BOY PHELPS EATS 12,000 CALORIES A DAY - New York Post
I honestly don't know how he can eat so much in one sitting without getting physicallly sick :shock::yuk:.

Well, he burns it all off swimming, because swimming is some of the best calorie-burning exercise that there is, and he looks like he has no fat on his body at all! He's really muscular.
 
After an excellent performance by Princess Nathalie, the Danish dressage team won a bronze. This was Denmark's first medal at the games. Holland and Germany got the silver and gold.


This is wonderful news for the Danish team. I understand that King Constantine awarded the medals. Princess Nathalie and her family must be very proud.
 
Ugh! I could not agree with you more on this. Especially the gymnasts. Don't get me wrong, the Chinese girls did a fantastic job and our girls choked. However, pretending that they are 16 is an insult to our intelligence. I think the age limit is silly in the first place. I can understand they it was put into place to protect the atheletes somewhat, but if a 12 yr old gymnast is just that good, then she deserves to compete at her appropriate level.


I agree about the gymnasts. Yes, the U.S. team did not do as well as the Chinese, but I cannot believe that all of the Chinese girls are 16.
 
Queen Sonja of Norway took a day of from sports and visited the scenic Summer Palace in Beijing on August 14th, 2008.

The girls guiding Her Majesty can be so proud and happy! I really envy them...:wub:



 
It's one of those eternal agnency-mistakes. They just love to add the former surnames of the Royal Ladies.
Like Princess Letizia Ortiz, Crown Princess Mary Donaldson or Queen Sonja Haraldsen.
Probably they want people to realize directly that the person is a born commoner. Who knows... :whistling:[/quote]


Aha. I never noticed this problem about Queen Sonja though:ermm:
 
Did CP Frederik not attend this Denmark event to see his 1st Cousin ???
Somehow I have the feeling that almost four hours of dressage doesn't provide enough action for him to watch it without falling asleep ;) Many other of Princess Nathalie's family members were there so she had enough support too, and I guess she called her father afterwards as well since he's not there at all.
 
Princess Nathalie von Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Digby during the Dressage Grand Prix - Prince Philippos of Greece, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and Princess Benedikte of Denmark watching
Getty Images
President Lamine Diack talks with Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock before the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) dinner on August 14, 2008 in Beijing
Getty Images
Former pole vaulting great and IOC executive board member Sergei Bubka talks with Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock
Getty Images
About Letizia, it´s easy to understand that she returned home to her daughters, especially because Felipe left to a four-day-trip to Paraguay and Dominican Republic. The children need their parents. According to spanish papers Queen Sofia and the Dukes of Palma arrive to Beijing at the weekend.

Lovely pictures. Queen Anne Marie and Princess Benedicte looked so moved! Please tell me if the Princess Nathalie competed for Denmark or Germany.
Does anyone have the photos of the proud uncle?
I am sure it was quite a day. Congratulations to the Princess.
 
She was competing for Denmark and won the dressage team bronzmedal. Princess Nathalie was Denmark's best rider!!! :daneflag:
 
She was competing for Denmark and won the dressage team. Princess Nathalie was Denmark's best rider!!! :daneflag:

Congratulations!!
There you go you got your medal..:flowers::flowers:........Where is mine???????:bang:
 
You might not have got your first medal yet. But your Greek ancestors are the ones who invented the olympic:greeceflag:

That's the best achivement ever;)
 
Somehow I have the feeling that almost four hours of dressage doesn't provide enough action for him to watch it without falling asleep ;) Many other of Princess Nathalie's family members were there so she had enough support too, and I guess she called her father afterwards as well since he's not there at all.

Another explanation might be that since the family was already so well-represented at the dressage event he chose to distribute the royal attendance a bit - badminton is a very popular sport in Denmark and Gade played against the world's best badminton player (and lost, sadly).
 
You might not have got your first medal yet. But your Greek ancestors are the ones who invented the olympic:greeceflag:

That's the best achivement ever;)

Thank you Lilla. You made my day. Now if you can scare up a medal for Greece in these Olympics I will be a very happy Greek!!!!!!!!!!!!:flowers::flowers:
 
I share your feelings. I am disappointed over the whole affair. I have not been to Beijing in the last 8 years but it looks more polluted and hazy than ever.
In my heart of hearts I always wished they'd bring the Olympics back to Greece every four years, but it is never going to happen.
Meantime I am trying to catch the updates on NBC which is a losing proposition and can't wait for Greece to get a medal in whatever......:bang:
I agree that Greece should be the permanent venue for all the Summer events. Everything could be built (with the help of money from all nations) there and used while another country hosted the opening ceremonies (don't need the huge show, just the athletics entering). It could be away from the big cities of Greece and supply thousands of jobs, etc. On the off years, the venues could be used for training the athletics from all over the world. Same could be done for Winter Games in a country known for snow, etc. But all that is too logical and simple, so men will never go for it!
 
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