Date : October 3rd to 18th 2008
Location : Beijing, China
Competition disciplines: Bridge, Chess, Draughts, Go, Xiang Qi (Chinese Chess)
Participants : 140 countries
The Media
2 TV official producers and broadcasters (incl. HB)
12 Television Channels present
326 Reporters present on site
109 Domestic or foreign media agencies present
Competition site
The WMSG took place in the brand new Beijing Olympic Park, which hosted the competitions of the 2008 Olympic Games in August.
Beijing Olympic Park sits at the north end of the axis of the metropolis, covering an area of
1 135 hectares, with 680 hectares set for forest park at the north side, 291 hectares for main venues in the centre and 114 hectares at the south side.
The competitions of the World Mind Sports Games took place in two different venues, both located in the Olympic Park
• The Beijing International Convention Centre which hosted the competitions for Draughts, Chess, Go, Xiang Qi, and Bridge juniors.
• The China National Convention Centre which hosted the competitions for Bridge, except for juniors.
Besides, in both competition sites, players and accompanying persons could enjoy the live broadcasting of the different Games in dedicated rooms called viewgraphs : they could follow the scores and watch the Games on big screens. Many of the Games were commented by professionals, in English and Chinese
Media
TV Production
Beijing TV, one of the main BOB subcontractors during the Olympic Games, was in charge of producing the images linked to the Games. The production reached high standards. CCTV, one other important Chinese channel, was also present on site as an official TV producer and broadcaster. Additionally, several National and International TVs were punctually present.
Television coverage
The television coverage was impressive, with no less than two main Chinese TVs present on site (Beijing TV being the official Host Broadcaster) to produce images and broadcast them live, delayed or through TV news on their networks in China.
Furthermore, during the whole period of the competition, daily short TV programmes were put at the disposal of Eurovision. They were all diffused to the European platform’s members (more than 65 within 46 different countries). Those short programmes were available for download. In total, more than 10 millions of TV viewers per day watched images of the Games.
The World Mind Sports Games benefited from a strong Press Coverage all over the world.
326 reporters from 109 domestic or foreign media agents were present to cover the event (100 news stories were published every day).
Many articles were published in the Specialized Press, as well as in National Federations’ magazines (for each sport).
The Daily Bulletins
Daily bulletins were published every day, allowing all the participants to read the news related to the event.
3 different editions were available on the competition sites:
– The Bridge Bulletin
– The General Bulletin
– The Youth Bulletin
Public Relations
Opening ceremony
The main opening ceremony of the first World Mind Sports Games was held on Friday, 3rd of October at 8.00 pm at the Gymasium (Olympic Sports Center) for Bridge Junior teams, Chess, Draughts, Go and XiangQi.
The second one was a cocktail party held at the Intercontinental Beijing Beichen Hotel, for the Bridge Open, Women, and Senior teams.
Each participating country was represented by a delegate, who was chosen to hold the flag during the opening ceremony.
The Water ceremony
During the opening ceremony, six delegates representing all the continents were asked to bring typical flasks containing water from their country.
Each of them poured this water into a common bowl, symbolizing the union of the different civilizations. “Tracing the Origins of Wisdom” :
• Water, the origin of life, is also the origin of civilization
• Water is the humanistic vehicle for the wisdom
• Water, through its unique way of existence, better explains the meaning of the slogan “Civilizations Varied, Wisdom Unbounded”
While the five continents are separated from another, the four oceans are connected
Closing ceremony
The 1st WMSG Closing Ceremony and Cocktail party were held at 5 pm on October 18th (Saturday) at Yayuncun Central Park.
On that occasion, different speeches were given; and some people were granted special prices.
Water ceremony
During the Closing ceremony, the six delegates could share the water made of the union of the six continents and pour it back in their flasks. This ceremony was very symbolic and illustrated perfectly the slogan of the world Mind Sports Games 2008 :
Civilizations varied, Wisdom unbounded
Watch the video of the 1st World Mind Sports Games in Beijing 2008 on youtube
Programme of the event IMSA programme 1st WMSG 2008 Beijing
2008 post event report
Complete description of the event: number of players, participants, figures, media report….