A tour of the Hong Kong Olympic Village (Royal Park Hotel in Sha Tin) by Olympic Identity Accreditation Card-holding members of the media is scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday, July 29) morning, at 11 am.

Only accredited members are to be admitted to the Village, which provides accommodation for the 42 teams expected to compete in next month’s Equestrian Events of the Olympics in Hong Kong.

The Village provides full-fledged facilities for the athletes, from dining to physiotherapy rooms, to meditation rooms for different religions.

A briefing for the Media will be hosted by Mayor of the Village, Ms Elsie Leung and Head of Games Services of the Equestrian Company, Mr Tang Ho-kong.

* Please note: The tour does not include any interviews with any of the teams in the Village.

Media representatives wishing to cover the tour shall assemble at the Flags Plaza of the Village, entrance to which is on Yi Ching Lane, next to the Sha Tin Law Courts Building, tomorrow (Tuesday) by 10.15 am.

Temporary passes will be issued to the media representatives in exchange of their OIAC.

Media representatives need to provide their:
Name(s)__________________
Olympic Identity Accreditation Card (OIAC) Numbers:______________________
Organisations: ____________________________ ,

details of which will need to be faxed to the Equestrian Company at Fax 2947-7209, or by e-mail to media@equestrian2008.org by 9 pm today (July 28).

The current security measures for the Olympic Equestrian Events are appropriate, Chief Executive Donald Tsang says, adding Police will continue to review the situation and will enhance the arrangements if necessary.

During his visit to the equestrian venues this afternoon, Mr Tsang said the security arrangements for the events are stringent and in line with the Olympic Games’ standard.

A balance is needed between ensuring the games’ safety and minimising the inconvenience caused to spectators, he added.

When asked whether Hong Kong’s hot weather will affect athletes’ and horses’ performance, Mr Tsang said Athens – which hosted the last Olympic Games – also has a hot summer.

He said athletes must prepare for different situations because competitions involve many unexpected factors.

Source: Hong Kong’s Information Services Department

An extra 14,000 tickets for the Olympic Equestrian Events have been allocated to Hong Kong by the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), Head of Games Services of the Equestrian Company, Mr Tang Ho-kong said today (July 27).

“With the Olympic equestrian enthusiasm, the 60,000 ‘Games-Time’ tickets for the Equestrian Events allocated to Hong Kong in mid-June have been sold out. To further encourage public engagement in the events, the Equestrian Committee (Hong Kong) of BOCOG had applied for another 14,000 tickets to be sold in Hong Kong,” Mr Tang said.

The last batch of Games-Time tickets is available for sale from Tuesday (July 29).  As in the current ticketing phase, CTS has been appointed as the official ticket agent for the Games-Time tickets for the Equestrian Events.

To encourage more people to attend the events, the Equestrian Committee continues to adopt the BOCOG policy and set ticket prices at affordable levels ranging from HK$58 to HK$544.

The spokesman for CTS Mr Ng Hi-on said people could purchase the Games-Time tickets at all CTS branches or on its website (www.ctshk.com) on a first-come, first-served basis. For the six popular sessions (EQ04, EQ05, EQ07, EQ11, EQ12, EQ13), each session only has a small amount of tickets left (about 500 tickets or less). The tickets will only be sold at CTS Mong Kok Branch starting from July 29 and the Branch will open an hour early at 8am that day. Each applicant may select a maximum of two tickets for each popular session and 15 tickets per other session for every transaction. For details, please visit the CTS website or call its ticketing hotline: (852) 2998-7080.

For the first batch of the Games-Time equestrian tickets on sales in Hong Kong since June 12, CTS will arrange the ticket redemption by batches starting from this week. CTS will contact the Ticket Exchange Coupon holders regarding the exact redemption time and arrangement.

For the last batch of Games-Time equestrian tickets, the cut-off time for ticket sales for morning sessions will be at 8pm the day before the competition, and at noon on the competition day for evening sessions. As the spectators have to bring their physical tickets in order to enter the venues, the Ticket redemption arrangements for Ticket Exchange Coupon holders will be as follows:

• For tickets being sold 5 days or more prior the competition day, Olympic Equestrian Tickets can be collected at designated CTS branch as from 3 days before the competition day. (For example, the redemption period for event on August 9 that bought on or before August 4 will be from August 6 to noon on August 8);
• For tickets being sold three or four days prior the competition day, Olympic Equestrian Tickets can be collected at CTS Mong Kok Branch two days after the purchase until the day before the competition up to noon time. (For example, the redemption period for event on August 9 that bought on August 5 or 6 will be from August 7 to noon on August 8);
• For tickets being sold within two days from the competition day, Olympic Equestrian Tickets can be collected at the ticket boxes at the shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off points two hours before the competition starts. (For example, tickets of August 9 event that bought on August 7 or 8 can be redeemed on August 9 at relevant shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off points.) For competitions held at Hong Kong Equestrian Venue (Sha Tin), the ticketing box is at University Station shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off point; for competition held at Hong Kong Equestrian Venue (Beas River), the ticketing box is at Fanling Station shuttle buss pick-up/drop-off point.
• The ticket redemption arrangements such as time, places, etc, for various ticket purchase phases will be printed on the Ticket Exchange Coupons. The Ticket Exchange Coupon Holders can redeem the physical tickets accordingly.

Thirteen Olympic equestrian events will be held from August 9-21 at the Sha Tin and Beas River venues.  Free shuttle bus services will be provided for spectators from MTR University Station to the Sha Tin competition venue and from MTR Fanling Station to the Beas River competition venue.

Mr Tang advised that spectators should arrive at the competition venues one or two hours before the start of competition for security checks to avoid a last-minute rush.

To facilitate spectators, live commentary in Cantonese and English will be available on radio (FM) channels at the Sha Tin competition venue. Spectators can take an FM radio with headsets to enjoy the events; whereas for the Beas River venue, English commentary will be available via the sound system at the venue.

For more information about the competitions, please browse the Equestrian Company’s website at https://equestrian2008.org, or call the 24-hour spectator enquiry hotline 2107-9955.

Olympic Equestrian Events comprise three disciplines: Dressage, Jumping and Eventing. Each discipline includes team and individual events. There are a total of about 200,000 equestrian tickets for sale in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games tickets have a design full of Olympic flavour, and can be kept as collectibles. Attending the Equestrian Events is the best way to show support for the China and Hong Kong teams and experience the Olympic spirit.

Equestrian Company Chief Executive Officer Lam Woon-kwong said more 300 doctors and 1,000 medical staff will be on hand for the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events, with an onsite medical team and ambulances standing by during the events – to help both human and animal athletes.

Equestrian events are the one sport that consider horses to be athletes, too.

Speaking on a morning radio talk show today – the day the first batch of 32 of the 300 horses who will participate arrived in Hong Kong – Mr Lam said Police would escort these horses to the Sha Tin stable as soon as possible to ensure they are kept in the best condition.

Mr Lam said 19 ambulances, including ones for horses, will stand by at the Beas River venue where accidents may easily occur in a cross-country test.

He stressed there will be ample security guards, and a closed-circuit television system has been installed at Beas River to ensure staff can be sent instantly to the site of any incidents.

His company will keep in close contact with the Security Bureau and the Police, Mr Lam said, adding arrangements will be adjusted if the risk-assessment alert is upgraded.

He urged audiences to use the shuttle-bus service provided and arrive at competition venues one to two hours in advance. To avoid affecting riders and horses’ performances, people should not use flash when taking photos.

Source: Hong Kong’s Information Services Department

After a half-day journey from Amsterdam, the first batch of 13 horses arrived remarkably well this morning (July 26) at their six-star stable accommodation in Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue (Sha Tin).

During the course of the day another 19 competing horses arrived from Europe and the United States. And over the next few days a total of 229 horses from across the globe will arrive at Hong Kong.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Equestrian Company, Mr Lam Woon-kwong, showed his delight with the arrangements of the transfer of the horses after their arrival when he told the assembled media that all involved in preparation for the competition had gone into Olympic mode as of today.

“I am so pleased with the reports of our veterinarian staff when I visited the stables that all 13 had travelled well,” he said. “Our experience from last year’s trials has been useful as we are prepared for all conditions…. periods of heat or wet weather conditions.”

Mr Lam was accompanied by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, the Head of Veterinary Clinical Services of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Dr Christopher Riggs, and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department’s quarantine officer, Dr Thomas Sit, for a tour of the stables when the horses arrived from the airport.

“The accompanying grooms have told us that they behaved well during the 11-hour flight from Amsterdam,” Dr Riggs said.

“I am sure that all horses will enjoy a good roll in the shavings, have a small feed or light exercise before settling in,” he added.

Dr Sit said he was also pleased with this batch of arrivals as all documents on their behaviour during quarantine were in order

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) announced today (July 25) the Animal Waste Composting Plant is ready to handle the horse stable waste arising from the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events to be held in Hong Kong from August to September 2008. Turning horse waste into useful compost is an important contribution to the environmental commitment of the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Events.

An EPD spokesman said that the Animal Waste Composting Plant, located in Ngau Tam Mei, is designed to treat about 20 tonnes of horse stable waste every day and turn it into useful organic compost suitable for landscaping, horticultural and agricultural uses. The plant adopts a rotary in-vessel composting technology to ensure effective elimination of all harmful pathogens as well as containment and treatment of potentially odorous emissions during the composting process.

“In-vessel composting enables the natural biological degradation of organic materials under controlled aerobic conditions,” he explained.

The total lump sum cost for the design and construction of the plant, including a two-year trial operation, was HK$37 million.