Royals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
 

as most of you will know, this year's summer olympics take place in beijing, from the 8-24 august. i opened a thread in 2004 to see which royals were going to attend the games and post pictures or information, which you can see here: https://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...cs-3041-5.html

do we have any news at this stage? :flowers:

The Norwegian court announced (after some prodding from the media) that the King and Queen, as well as the Crown Prince would attend the games.

From Denmark, CP Frederik will attend.

I hope that if Zara Phillips makes the team, which seems very likely that some of the BRF will go. Of course China has several 'issues' which could make that trip dicey politically.

From England at least Princess Anne would come, i am sure. And maybe the Duchess of Cornwall might as well.

I know if Zara makes it to the Olympics that Princess Anne will most definitley be there, and maybe some of her cousins.

William and Henry and Tim who is her Stepfather Peter and Autumn.

Crown Prince Frederik's going, even though there was lots of talk about him not, because its being held in Beijing and there's controversy, etc.

Princess Nora vuz Liechtenstein is on the IOC so I suspect she and some members of the Liechtenstein princely family will be there, though they will likely go unnoticed. :smile:

The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima are going

Most Royals are members of the IOC and will be present for the games in Beijing. King Constantine of the Hellenes and the Princess Royal are both members and they will be present.

Prince Albert of Monaco he will most likely attend

Are the Spanish Royals going this year? I remember seeing pictures of all of them-down to little Juan Valentin, at the Olympics in years past. Or was that just because Cristina's husband was on the Spanish handball team?

Isnt Mary attending with Frederik?
Also Princess Haya will be attending since she is the FEI President.

I think royal families will go to the Olympics since most royals are sportsman and they will most likely cheer for their athletes.

She is attending, just not the entire time.

Nothing is said from the royal court but I can guarantee that King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of sweden and mybe the Crown Princess too will travel to beijing.

i guess the ruling family of Dubai will also be present!

Maybe, Sheikha Maitha go for karate!:flowers:

i hope so!:smile:
she's the best!:boxing:

Mathilde and Philippe ??????????????

I wonder that ,too.:rolleyes:

Does anyone know?

What about Asian royals? Esp. Brunei?

maybe some Brunei royals will also be present. at least, we hope! ;)

Also swedish royals attend:

Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf are in Beijing from 14. August to 24. August.

And the luxembourg royals?? will they go?? anyone know about that??

Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on August 8 in representation of Spain.
The confirmation of the popular couple’s official presence at what looks like being one of the most controversial openings of recent times, came in the wake of a meeting in the Spanish capital between President José Luis Zapatero and China’s minister for foreign affairs, Yang Jiechi. “Spain is China’s best friend in the European Union,” said a beaming Jiechi, who urged Sr Zapatero to try to convince his more squeamish counterparts in Europe to follow Spain’s example by not mixing sport with politics.
(source: tenerifenews)

Crown Princess Mary said that the family will be visiting Tasmania this year, perhaps they will meet up with the Crown Prince during the Olympics and continue onto Australia. :flowers:

I think that Pierre Casiraghi might visit it. He visit The Olympic Games in Torino, so I think he could visit China, but who know??

This has been confirmed, see this thread :flowers:

Beijing Olympics - 08-08-08
 

I can't tell you how excited I am for the upcoming Summer Olympics! I even took time off of work so I can watch as much as possible. Anyways, i thought we should have a general discussion topic about it.

What are your favorite sports? (beach vollyball and gymnastics are mine - that reminds me I have to go see if they have chosen the rest of the women's team)
How do you think the home country will fare in the medal count? (I'm gonna guess they'll be in the top 5)
Do you anticipate anything non-sports-related happening during the Games? (protests, earthquake, etc)

Good topic!

I like the swimming events (can't go wrong with Michael Phelps and the Thorpedo!) and gymnastics the most. I'm getting into horseback riding, and now that Princess Nathalie is involved in those, I'm going to follow them closer. I'm sad that Zara Phillips isn't going to be involved!

I'm a big Olympics fan. I love all aquatics, especially swimming and diving. The USA should have a good chance of winning, I think, with people like Michael Phelps participating. I also love gymnastics, beach volleyball, water polo, handball, track events, combined events, table tennis:biggrin:, tennis, and football (soccer). It will be fun to watch, seeing as NBC here in America is basically going to have coverage 24/7, through t.v. and the internet.

I think Russia, China, and the United States will take home the most medals.

The official olympic site has a schedule of the events: Competition Schedule - The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

It is interesting that football actually starts two days before the opening ceremony.

It will be some very busy days. I'll be at home with my parents (and their cable tv :D) for parts of it, which may definitely help keep me up to date.

I believe these are the last Olympics for Softball. I am not sure about baseball.
Having spent the last Olympics as a volunteer in Athens I have extra interest in these Games to make comparisons. Let the Games begin!!!!

It's the last games for both softball and baseball :flowers: I guess they haven't been able to scounge up enough interest in it worldwide, and the fact that Olympic Baseball has never reached the interest level level of the American "world" series in the States, and the best players aren't sent, as with the NBA, is probably also one of the reasons.

They can both return for the 2016 games, if they receive enough votes in the IOC, and no other sports take their place.

Equestrian for sure and Gymnastics. The air quality in Beijing is worrying though.

I forgot about that! I was looking forward to watching her. Did the Onassis heir (Athina?) every succeed in her quest to ride for Greece in the Olympics?

I'm most into handball, but primarely womens handball, the mens handball is just too brutal for me, so I'm really sad that the our national ladies team aren't going especially since they've won the last tre olympics:-( I guess our mens national team might be in the top 5 and may even win though.. And I think we'll take som medals in sailing and perhaps athletics too.. But one things for sure; Denmark wont be the country to take the most medals:-) I'm betting on united states, russia and china too..

What is handball? Is that like US Basketball or more like water polo on land? Maybe Soccer/Football except with your hands? Or a more dangerous form of Dodgeball?:lol: It's hard to tell from photos! 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics - Handball | Athlete, Team Profiles, Videos & Photos | NBC Olympics

A little update on the US Gymnastics front:
NBCOlympics.com - Women's selection camp: Day 1
NBCOlympics.com - Hamm ready to put his hand to the test

If you go to the Olympics' website you can also see the amazing venues Beijing has prepared for the Olympics. The arena the basketball games will be held in is covered with metal that not only is energy-efficient but also looks cool (the metal is sort of a symbolic blend of new China-the energy efficient metal and old China- the metal kind of looks like giant pieces of bamboo). The National Aquatics Center, aka the Watercube, is the venue for the swimming events. It glows in different colors and is made out of a lot of air bubbles.

The spotlight venue in this Olympics, and the one that is already getting cheers and jeers, is the National Stadium, aka "the Bird's Nest". Designed by famed Swiss architectural firm Herzog and DeMeuron, the building will host the athletic events (track and field, etc) and soccer. It is called the bird's nest because the exterior is covered with tons of metal poles layered in all different directions, just like a bird's nest. Personally, I like it. Here's a link to an image.


For events, I'm looking forward to watching gymnastics (always fun to watch), swimming (go Phelps!), rowing (crew) and as always, the Opening and Closing ceremonies (my favorites!). This year I am also excited about the sailing competition because I know one of the women who will be competing.

Well I guess you could actually say that handball is a sort of european football but with hands, yes, only they score more goals (and to me that makes it more exiting) and there are a lot of rules that are different from football (for example there's no off-side rules but instead none of the field players can step into the area around the goal.) Also you are only alowed to take three steps with the ball or you have to drible (I think that is also the case in basketball?). I don't see many similarities with dodgeball though. It is also a quite rough sport and the second most popular sport in denmark next to football.

I only mentioned Dodgeball because in some of the photos the players looked like they were going to whip the ball at a person (as in dodgeball) rather than pass it to them.:lol: Can dodgeball be an Olympic sport?!

If you had to choose between the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, which one is your favorite? I think I'd chose the Closing Ceremonies cause it always looks like a great party (especially the Salt Lake City, Utah and Sydney Australia OGs).

I am looking forward to running and swimming events, tennis ( always love this sport) , handball and of course the opening and closing ceremonies. I don't know which one i would choose if I had to choose one. I was supposed to go to Beijing but unfortunately I won't go .

The China and Taiwan softball teams were very strong in the 2004 games. However the US team dominated the games from the start. The Canadian team had the loveliest friendliest girls and coaches with them. Wish them all good luck.

It is a toss up. They are both extremely emotional and if I could, I would not miss either. I saw both in Athens and cannot choose. They were both,( one full of hopes the other full of nostalgia), unique.

From Volleyball @ AVP.COM: News: AVP.com : "They (Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Trainer) will be meeting President George W. Bush on Monday night with 12 other athletes, including Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, two of the four U.S. team's men's beach volleyball representatives." :w00t2:Beach volleyball players make up one fourth of the invited athletes!:w00t2:

I had heard about this over the weekend watching pro-beach volleyball on tv, but they said there would be only 8 other Olympic athletes attending. They said Todd Rogers only owned one suit that was a gift from his brother five or six years ago, so he felt it was time to upgrade! He got a new suit, shirts and ties. The announcers also said that Todd Rogers' wife declined to attend because she doesn't like/approve of the President. While I agree with her opinion of the President, I think she should attend to support her husband, support his sport, his Olympic hopes, and because it's such a RARE opportunity to be invited to dinner at The White House!

The Americans Apparatus Disadvantage - 2008 Olympics – Sports and News from China – The New York Times Interesting!

The Starting Line: Soccer Hopes Dim for U.S. Women; Brighter for U.S. Men - 2008 Olympics – Sports and News from China – The New York Times Scroll down to the bottom picture and tell me if you've ever seen them do this. Is it really intimidating, or just funny?

I read that. I found it strange that they hadn't chosen to adapt to the competing apparatus earlier. I assume the brand of apparatus was selected for the games well in advance, so it seems odd if they haven't had the time to adapt to it. :ermm:

The specific announcer corrected himself on the next day's show saying Todd Rogers' wasn't attending because she didn't want to deal with the travel hassles, not because she didn't like the Prez.

Is anyone going to be boycotting the Olympics? I don't support China's human rights violations, so I won't be giving NBC or any the sponsors my time or money.

Well I wasn't planning to go to the olympics anyway, but I think I will watch some of it anyway. However I will be lighting candles in my windows at the night of the opening for Tibet (a facebook group came up with this idea).

I'm not going, but that's more of a financial decision than a political one. I will be watching though. I think it'll be very interesting to watch - I've been following stories of what China is trying to do to "beautify" their country for the Olympics. They seem like mostly "band-aid" solutions meant to mask the problem for the duration of the Olympics rather than solve the problem in the long run (like air pollution). It also seems like the government is wound so tight that something is bound to snap, break or fail. It's like an elaborate house of cards, ready to fall. Besides, the spirit of Olympic sport is supposed to rise above the politics of the countries participating.

I expect plenty of demonstrations to occur, even if the government is actively trying to snuff them out. Beijing even tried to find away to get rid of the homeless for the duration of the Olympics. I can't remember where I read that, but it stuck out at me.

China's human rights stances and the numerous violations they have inflicted are just insane. This is almost as bad as when they gave Nazi Germany the Olympics in 1936.

https://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/...ics/index.html

I feel bad for these athletes! To be so close and be denied because of someone else's jealous actions! The Olympics is suppose to transcend politics.

Official confirmation that Frederik & Mary will be attending the Olympic Games:
HRH the Crown Prince will attend the Olympics in Beijing between August 4 and 19.
HRH the Crown Princess will attend the Olympics in Beijing between August 7 and 13.

Kongehuset - Aktuelt - Kalender

Royal diary search results

The Princess Royal will be in Beijing from 4-23 August.

He might, but when he went to Torino he was with Prince Albert, and he had competed in the winter olympics when he was younger, so there's a slim possibility. I expect Charlene Wittstock will be at the Olympics as a spectator, and Albert may accompany her. I think this will be her first year not competing.

so far, we have:

NORWAY: Harald, Sonja and Haakon (no MM?)
DENMARK: Frederik and Mary
THE NETHERLANDS: WA and Maxima
SWEDEN: CG and Silvia
SPAIN: Felipe and Letizia
GREAT BRITAIN: Princess Anne

I remember seing many royals in the last olympics at Athens supporting their teams, sportsman and sportswomen, I really hope to see it again! :smile:

I wonder if Princess Benedikte woun't be there as well - perhaps not as an official representative of Denmark - but her daughter Princess Natali zu Sayn Wittgenstein is on the danish team in dressage.

EPONA: OL-hold i dressur udtaget

NBCOlympics.com - Too young for Beijing?

So it sounds like China is violating some rules in hopes of boosting their medal count? Of course their passports are going to say they are 16! Passports are government issued documents!

Okay! 9 days to go and then the biggest sportevent of the world starts. Hope to see nice pictures of enthusiastic royals ( above all of my favourite royal family:swedenflag:).
I wonder if the young swedish royals will attend. I bed that CP Victoria attends the Paralympics. She did it already in Athens, 2004.
I haven't heard something about Madeleines and Carl Philips plans. Does anyone know more about them? I can't remember Madeleine attend the Olympic Games ever. I had never seen pictures of her cheering the swedish sportsmen and sportswomen on like the other family members.
I can't wait that the Olympic Games start.

Iraqis thrilled over Olympic ban lift - USATODAY.com

I'm so happy for them!:clap:

An article which lists a few royal names who will be attending the equestrian games.

I am surprised that CP Mary isn't reported as being on the guest list for the equestrian games. I have read in several places in this forum that she loves horses.

OK, maybe this is stupid of me, talking politics, but I think it would be great if they stayed at home... just to show the world that swedes are pro freedom and democracy and supporting human rights. Kina is not a v nice country to live in if you dont think and act like the gouvernment think and act... ask Amnesty International, they know....

Princess Benedikte is going, she's listed as a visitor on the Danish royal website so you bet we'll see her cheer for Nathalie - how could she miss it! :flowers:

They didn't actually give the games to 'Nazi' Germany. The games were awarded to Berlin before the Nazis came to power. However with both Beijing and Moscow the IOC knew in advance that those countries were communist and had appalling human rights records.

The IOC could have decided to take the high moral ground in 1936, and taken the games away from Berlin if they really had wanted to make a statement.

Personally I don't think they should ever have been given to either Moscow or Beijing and should have been taken off Berlin after the 1935 Nuremburg Laws were announced (these were the laws that made it really hard for the Jews).


One good thing that came from the Berlin games was the film Olympia with the great scenes of Jesse Owens and some of the innovative sports filming techniques introduced by Leni Riefenstahl (some of which are still used today and others have been improved but she pioneered them in 1936).

NBCOlympics.com - Bringing classy back

Here's a preview of US olympics outfits. About halfway down there is a link for a photo gallery of other countries' uniforms. There's Australia, Germany:wub:, Japan, New Zealand, Italy, Russia, Great Britian, Canada and Austria.

I have a question all those royals who will attend the Olympic Games are not necessary participe at a games or a members of any Olympic Committees right?

Royals at the Beijing Olympics.

News Summary Royalblog.nl: Royal line-up for Olympics shapes up


Courtesy HJA's Royalblog.
https://www.royalblog.nl/

Most are of the Royals are Members of the International Olympic Committee,or a Honorary Member of the Committee,like dearest Tino of Greecehe's a former gold medalist sailing,Rome 1962.
King Harald is also is a former Olympic sailor.

Does anybody know if the Infanta Cristina and her husband Iñaki will go to the Olympics?

No. The royals who are not members of the IOC and attend the meetings they have in China before the games are just there to support the athletes of their countries. Most countries have a lot of VIP's hosted by their National Olympic Committees during the games, and many other officials are usually also there to cheer and socialize.

I believe I read somewhere that they will go to Beijing from Mozambique where they currently vacation with WA & Maxima.

I see.thanks alot GrandDuchess for make it clear:flowers:

Usually royals who are IOC members, also give out some of the medals to the athletes of their own countries....in between socializing that is...:whistling:

NBCOlympics.com - More questions about Chinese gymnasts' ages

albert of monaco arrived in beijing today, with charlene. Noticias breves de actualidad


according to hola, WA and frederik are in beijing.

It is getting exciting even at that distance. Imagine what is going on in Beijing!!!!!!!!:smile:

Qatar crown Prince Tamim
Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander
Danish Crown Prince Frederik Andre Henrik Christian
British Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise
Luxembourg Grand Duke Henri Albert Gabriel Felix Marie Guillaume
Former U.S. State Secretary Henry Alfred Kissinger have arrived on Monday to Beijing

Source

Here is a link with the information in english:
Albert of Monaco leads famous faces arriving in Beijing for Games

Id love it if Lady Gabriella showed up !

The 120th Session of the IOC was opened on August 4th. All the members of the IOC attended. Here is a (grainy) photo of the whole group, I've circled Princess Anne and Grand Duke Henri in this version of the photo (they were the only ones I could spot!)

And Crown Prince Frederik also attened the opening, picture here

:flowers:

(Xinhua Photo, Thomas Wilmann)

Thanks JessRulz, the photo really is grainy, you did well with the 2 you found.
I love Frederik's tie (he doesn't have his own fashion thread for me to say that in does he??? lol)

An article (in German) of Grand Duc Henri and the Lux Olympic team. For more pictures click on Mehr Fotos: Einzug der Luxemburger Delegation. Furthermore a small interview with the Grand Duc can be found.
https://www.wort.lu/articles/6628275.html

Here is a schedule of events that Prince Frederik & Princess Mary will have during the games. They seem to be pretty busy.

The games got off to a good start today (well, for me, anyway ;) ), when Norway beat the US 2-0 in football. Both goals were scored within the first four minutes of the match, and even though there were big chances in the rest of the match, they were either over the goal, or the goalies kept in control.

This is a very good beginning of the games for Norway.

i'm also boycotting, i'm not buying anything with olympic logos (OMG had to switch from coke to dr pepper) i've written emails to NBC and sponsors as i find them. everyone keeps saying keep politics out of the games, CHINA has turned it into a political game. the corruption and "favors" have exposed the IOC for what it is, a bunch of criminals that will do anything for $$$. (i hope there's an investigation and charges!)

i saw the story about the chinese team and training....torture, kidnapping and child abuse DISGUSTING (but i'm not surprised, the story was probably only the tip of the iceberg)

there's tight censorship on what can be written about in china, i hope when they all get home to freedom, journalists have the GUTS to tell the truth.

i only hope this sham of the games doesn't doom the olympics forever, i personnally have no respect for the IOC and hope all these trials, lies, tribulations and headaces are keeping them awake nights (it's not enough but it's the best i can hope for)

Yesterday evening Princess Haya as president of FEI hosted a "Hong Kong Night" at The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Beijing Clubhouse. Prince Albert, Charlene Wittstock and Infanta Pilar were among the guests :)

here's a bigger picture of the 120th session of the IOC: https://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...3453159018.jpg

i'm sure the welcome reception and lunch by president hintao will be a real gathering of royals and statespeople! quite an event to look forward to. i wonder what the agenda or the protocol would be like..

here's the agenda for the prince and princess of asturias in beijing: click on mas informacion to see details (in spanish)

• Recepción de bienvenida al Equipo Olímpico Español: welcome reception to the spanish olympic team
  
  Más información
• Almuerzo a los dignatarios extranjeros asistentes a la ceremonia de inauguración de los XXIX Juegos Olímpicos, ofrecido por S.E. el Presidente de la República Popular China, Sr. Hu Jintao: welcome lunch for foreign representants by the president, hu jintao.
  
  Más información
• Ceremonia de inauguración de los XXIX Juegos Olímpicos: opening ceremony of the games
  
  Más información
• Almuerzo ofrecido por el Vicepresidente de la República Popular China, Sr. Xi Jinping: lunch by the vicepresident.
  
  Más información

Crown prince Frederik at the flag-raising ceremony of the Olympic delegation of Denmark at the Olympic Village
Xinhua
Xinhua
Xinhua
Xinhua

https://www.billedbladet.dk/Kongelige...20Beijing.aspx

Article and picture of Princess Mary arriving in Beijing earlier today :smile:

***
BEIJING - August 7: Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands talks with the President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge and the IOC's Director General Urs Lacotte before a meeting of the 120th IOC Session

(Belga)

Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock at the Monaco flag raising ceremony in the Olympic Village.
APA-Picturedesk
APA-Picturedesk
APA-Picturedesk
APA-Picturedesk
APA-Picturedesk

video from Tve
Princes of Asturias in Beijing

YouTube - Izado de la bandera española en Pekin

Princess Mary of Denmark smiles during the Australian Olympic team reception at the Sofitel Wanda ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 7, 2008 in Beijing, China.

Getty Images - Unsupported browser detected

Mary looks radiant & beaming. Nice gesture of an aussie-girl-turned-into-danish-princess to see the Australian Team too. Fred becomes more and more a spitting image of his mother.

Did any of the Royals (other than CP of Denmark) bring their children ?

Welcome China, welcome them

Felipe & Letizia left them at home and I doubt WA & Maxima will bring them along. Don't think Beijing is a place for small children to be around, only busy and hot and given the parents have to attend events they would end up with the full time nanny anyway (as they do at home now).