2008 Olympic Games Medal Design Competition Launched

A competition to design the medals of the 2008 Olympic Games was launched yesterday by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

The closing date for design applications will be March 26, 2006, and the winning designs are expected to be unveiled in the middle of this year.

"The designs for the Beijing Olympic medals should highlight the themes of 'glory and dream' and 'faster, higher and stronger,'" said Zhang Ming, deputy director of BOCOG Culture and Ceremonies Department.

"The medals should be the material vehicles to disseminate the Olympic ideals and the concepts of the Beijing Games, to showcase China's arts, designs and scientific and technological development.

They should become the unique legacy of the Beijing Games."

In line with the requirements from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the face of the medal will use the uniform image of the winged goddess of victory plus a panorama of the Greek Panathinaiko Stadium.

The wording on the reverse will be 'XXIX OLYMPIAD BEIJING 2008.'

According to Zhang, the design campaign is open to the public and all proposals will be judged by a panel of experts.

"Eight designs will come out of the first round of selection.

Each will win prize money worth 20,000 yuan (US$2,500).

The next round will shorten the lis