いつの間にやらあと１年と化した「北京五輪」地元の盛り上がりは半端でない。
が、正直、あのグレーの空と、我の強い国民性は、こういった国際大会にアンマッチなのでは？といった感覚が拭い切れない....。
「BEIJING (AFP) - China's one-year Olympic party got into full swing on Wednesday with mass rallies ahead of a song-and-dance extravaganza for 10,000 people in the heart of Beijing, as blue skies emerged just in time.
But pollution concerns in the Chinese capital and a relentless barrage of criticism from home and abroad over the communist rulers' human rights policies continued to take some shine off the celebrations.
A gathering of more than a million Chinese for dawn exercises in parks throughout Beijing launched the countdown to what is widely expected to be one of the best-prepared Games ever.
A series of test events, including hockey and rowing, also got under way on Wednesday at the venues that will hold those competitions.
Wednesday's highlight will come when 10,000 invited guests, including national leaders, celebrities and Olympic chiefs, gather on Tiananmen Square in the heart of the capital to celebrate the one-year countdown.
Fireworks will explode as revellers watch the countdown clock tick to 8:08 pm (1208 GMT) -- exactly one year out from the 2008 Games.」
