Chinese, foreign students in joining hands to welcome the Olympics (photos attached)

Updated：2007-06-17

(Beijing, Jun 16) -- This morning, the Beijing No. 14 Branch Middle School worked with the Bulgarian Embassy and the UK's Didcot Girls School to hold a symbolic "Welcome the Olympics" morning of activities and fun at the middle school.

The morning's activities consisted of an opening ceremony, various other ceremonies, and athletic competitions. The activities commenced as the Olympic Anthem played in the background and the Olympic Flag was slowly raised alongside the No.14 Branch Middle School's symbolic flag, made especially for the symbolic day. The Bulgarian Counselor of Culture, Mr. Dimiter Tonev, Mrs. Toneva, representatives of the Didcot Girls School, and the Beijing No. 14 Middle School secretary, Li Yv Chun, gave speeches to welcome the symbolic Day.

Opening ceremony

For the opening ceremony, members of the roller skating club at the No. 14 Branch Middle School skated proudly past the VIP table while carrying the three countries' flags. Immediately following this the delegations that students organized to represent the different countries entered ceremoniously. The students were given the opportunity to show off their intelligence and wit through the delegations' performances, which reflected the cultural traits of each country. The opening ceremony concluded on a high note, with the Chinese students demonstrating martial arts, group fan dancing, and diabolo dancing; the British students demonstrated rounders, street dancing and other sports.

The "Welcome the Olympics" activities concluded with the Chinese and British students' co-participation in two hours of various athletic competitions.

Over 900 people attended this morning's activities, including: the respective leaders from the Media and Communications Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), the Xuan Wu District People's Congress, the Foreign Affairs Office of Xuan Wu District, and the Xuan Wu District Education Commission; and the Beijing No. 14 Branch Middle School's student body, faculty, and principal.

The Beijing No. 14 Branch Middle School established a partnership program with Didcot Girls School in 2003. In 2005, the partner schools agreed upon an exchange based on the Olympics. Didcot Girls School sent a special delegation of students and teachers to participate in today's activities because the activities served as an important link between the two institutions.

The Bulgarian Olympic Organizing Committee is the Beijing No. 14 Branch Middle School's partner in the "Heart-to-Heart" Program. The partners established "Heart-to-Heart Friendship; Hand-in-Hand, We welcome the Olympics" as the theme of their partnership. On May 11, Bulgarian youth, a delegation led by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Vessela Letcheva, along with the Bulgarian Counselor of Culture and others visited the middle school to discuss their partnership. Today's activities were an important component of their partnership.

Students' parade