China's first bid for the Olympics failed, and Sydney was involvedShady
On September 23, 1993, when the news of Beijing's failed bid for the Olympic Games was transmitted back to China, Comrade Xiaoping was emotionally moved when he learned about it. He was puzzled by Beijing's last-minute reversal of the tide after leading Sydney in previous rounds of voting.
On a new day, a new slogan was posted on all subways in Beijing: "The Olympic dream is still unrealized, and we still need to work together." The news quickly spread throughout the country, leaving countless people disappointed and confused.
People are beginning to wonder what caused us to lose the final round of voting. What kind of conspiracy is hidden in this?
With the advancement of reform and opening up in 1978, China's national strength gradually increased. In order to enhance its international influence, in 1984, China successfully bid for the 11th Asian Games and began to build the Asian Games Village in Beijing to welcome guests from all over the world.
On July 3, 1990, 86-year-old comrade *** visited the Asian Games Village and saw the new and magnificent buildings around him, and his face showed a satisfied smile.
This bold idea ignited in his heart: it is better to hold the Olympic Games after the Asian Games!
Comrade Xiaoping thought about it again and again and thought that it was too wasteful to use this high-quality sports facility only once. So, he made a bold suggestion to Zhang Baifa and Wu Shaozu, who were in charge of the entourage: "Do you have the courage to bid for the Olympic Games?" ”
When the two of them heard this, they couldn't help but be shocked, and immediately thought of the difficulties and challenges they might face, and couldn't help but smile wryly, not knowing how to respond. However, Comrade Xiaoping saw their worries, shook his head and said: "Don't think too much, foreigners call us the sick man of East Asia, do we have to carry this stigma all the time?"
We must get rid of this hat as soon as possible! ”
After agreeing with this view, they decided to seize the opportunity to let foreigners see what we are like. Seeing Comrade Xiaoping, who was full of anticipation, get into the car, Wu Shaozu immediately began to prepare to report to his superiors on the procedures for bidding for the Olympic Games.
It was expected that a discussion would be needed, but the idea was unanimously agreed. It turned out that under the influence of the Asian Games, the enthusiasm of our people for sports was high, and more and more young people began to pay attention to physical health, which made the leader very pleased, so he decisively supported the bid for the Olympic Games.
Not only that, all departments are very willing to give full support, and even the head of the finance department found Wu Shaozu and said directly: "You can rest assured, we will cut other expenses, and all the money saved will be used to support the Olympic Games." ”
Wu Shaozu finally reassured, and he confidently told Comrade Xiaoping: "Our country has the ability to host the Olympic Games!" "In the face of many strong competitors, our Olympic bid delegation was fearless and submitted the application with the most sincere attitude.
In the end, Huangtian paid off, and after three rounds of voting, Beijing and Sydney became the final candidate cities. This news made Western countries nervous, because the 2000 Olympics were not only the first Olympic Games of the 21st century, but also had great economic and political significance.
The British defeat made them the first to attack, and their foreign secretary took the initiative to visit Australia and told reporters: "Our Manchester is the best choice, if we lose the election, we should go to Australia, and Beijing is the worst idea." ”
This remark was quickly reported, and our representative was very angry when he saw it, and he told his entourage: "We must show them with facts, and we must do a good job in every step of the way." ”
Just as China's Olympic bid delegation was coping with various difficulties, the United States also joined in.
On 10 June 1993, the United States used the excuse of opposing the hosting of the 2000 Olympic Games in China and demanded that all the United States members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote against it. This news caused a strong reaction, not only *** and others were furious, but even IOC President Samaranch immediately spoke, strongly opposing the United States to mix politics and sports.
However, the United States has turned a deaf ear to this and continues to tarnish the image of our country in various ways. No matter how the Chinese delegation goes, it will be surrounded by foreign media, and even some reporters are rude and provocative, and Wu Shaozu almost clashed with it.
During this period, the entire Chinese delegation was deeply trapped in the whirlpool and under pressure.
With the support of Western countries, Australia is arrogant and arrogant, and constantly slanders our country. On August 31, 1993, Australia interviewed Zhang Baifa, who once again stressed that the United States' actions violated the Olympic spirit and were wrong.
An American journalist pretended not to be concerned and asked, "So will you use this to boycott the upcoming Olympics in Atlanta, USA?" Zhang Baifa was very surprised by this question, and he immediately said: "Although we have the right to retaliate, we will never do such a thing, we always adhere to the Olympic spirit." ”
What Zhang Baifa did not expect was that Australia had deliberately set a trap for a long time, and its reporters deliberately confused the public, took quotes out of context, and fabricated a large number of rumors in a short period of time that "China wants to retaliate against the United States and boycott the Atlanta Olympics" in a vain attempt to smear China's image.
In the face of the joint repression by the Western powers, my delegation was in a difficult situation, but fortunately, President Samaranch insisted on impartiality and confirmed that all the nonsense was true, and he resolutely handed over the opportunity to speak to Mr. Ho Zhenliang, and after timely clarification, the turmoil was calmed down.
Although those smear and rumor-mongering tactics did not succeed, in the end, our country regrettably lost two crucial votes and failed to successfully bid for the 2000 Olympic Games. However, Comrade Xiaoping was not surprised by this, and he believed that this was an expected result.
Back in the early hours of September 24, 1993, Samaranch announced the host city of the Olympic Games, and delegates from all over the world nervously awaited the results. At this time, lights are lit up all over the country, and people are staring intently at the live broadcast, unwilling to miss any moments.
When Beijing's name appeared on the big screen, the delegation stood up excitedly, ready to cheer and celebrate. However, when they saw the next result, they had to stand still.
On the huge display screen, the English names of the cities bidding for the Olympic Games flashed one after another, and finally frozen"sydney"(Sydney), Samaranch solemnly announced:"Sydney, a successful city in the Olympic bid! "
For a moment, even the Australian delegates could not react, and they stared at the big screen in a daze, until they confirmed that the victory belonged to their country, and then they burst into excited cheers.
In the camp of the Chinese delegation, some people are happy and some are worried. Seeing the Australians immersed in the joy of victory, they looked lost, but still maintained the Chinese demeanor and expressed sincere wishes to the Australians.
After the incident, the delegation packed its bags and boarded the plane home with a sense of guilt and anxiety. The atmosphere in the cabin of the plane was solemn, laughter and laughter were gone, and some people even secretly wiped their tears.
** Deeply remorseful: "Maybe it's because we didn't handle the smear of the West enough. Seeing his heartache, the entourage hurriedly comforted: "We have done our best, maybe the facilities in Sydney are better." ”
At that time, the delegation was not aware of the conspiracy behind it, and only kept reviewing its own mistakes.
As they stepped out of the plane door trembling, they were amazed by what they saw: 1,500 delegates greeted them warmly with flowers and banners.
** The eyes of the others were moist, and their hearts were full of gratitude, and they vowed to bring the Five Rings back to China in the future to repay this support. After returning to China, Wu Shaozu met Comrade Xiaoping.
He knew that the current Olympic bid was of great significance to Comrade Xiaoping, and his heart was full of guilt when he saw the 89-year-old man. Comrade Xiaoping smiled and comforted him: "This is expected, the key is to do our own affairs well, and we can sum up our experience and start again." ”
However, as he spoke, Comrade Xiaoping's face gradually became serious, and he sighed deeply: "There is someone behind this, I know very well, don't blame yourself too much." ”
Wu Shaozu was shocked when he heard this, thought about it carefully, and lowered his head and smiled bitterly, which was obviously a bit boring, but no one cared. Comrade Xiaoping also knows very well that in the final analysis, the country is not strong enough, and only by truly standing on a high plane that people cannot ignore can we have an equal dialogue with Western countries.
He quietly looked out the window, looking forward to that day. Unstoppable second Olympic bid. After the setback of the first Olympic bid, China began to vigorously develop the economy, sports, education and other fields, in just a few years, not only the people have become rich, the country has also become stronger, China's international influence has begun to become impossible to ignore.
As one of the representatives of the Beijing Olympic bidding delegation, He Zhenliang has always regretted the failure of the 1993 Olympic bid. He believes that the lack of communication with other countries was a major reason for that failure.
In order to successfully bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, he actively established friendships with members from Asia, Europe, Latin America and other countries, so that more people could know a more prosperous and powerful China.
On April 6, 1999, the Chinese Olympic Committee again submitted an application to the IOC to host the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. However, the United States is again trying to block China's bid.
This time, however, even U.S. lawmakers have come out against interfering with the venue of the Olympics and have argued that Sino-US relations should not deteriorate.
In the face of domestic doubts, the United States recognized that the historical trend was irreversible, and finally chose to respect China's sovereignty and no longer interfere in China's vote. On the evening of July 13, 2001, countless Chinese gathered outside the venue in Moscow, holding the national flag and waiting with anticrative anticipation.
Finally, at 11:10 p.m., Samaranch officially announced that Beijing had won the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games, and the entire venue erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
He Zhenliang and others burst into tears, they finally realized the expectations of the Chinese people and won the honor belonging to the Chinese!
On August 8, 2008, China successfully hosted the Beijing Olympic Games, which was the result of the joint efforts of the people of the whole country. "Bird's Nest"、"Fuwa"、"Water Cube"and other designs have become unforgettable memories.
The holding of the Olympic Games also fulfilled Comrade Xiaoping's wish, changed the impression of Western countries on China, and completely shook off the hat of backwardness. Although the truth may be late, it will never be absent, and after Beijing's successful bid for the Olympic Games, the truth of 1993 surfaced, causing accusations from people all over the world.
On January 22, 1999, a shocking piece of news was made public: the president of the Australian Olympic Committee had bribed two African commissioners with $70,000 in order to win the right to host the Olympic Games.
In the final moments of this vote, Chairman Kauz secretly invited them to a banquet and promised to provide them with 3$50,000 in sports** on the condition that a vote be cast for Australia.
Under the money, the committee members who were originally going to vote for China changed their decision and voted for Australia with two crucial votes, thus making China lose the right to host the 2000 Olympic Games.
In the aftermath of the scandal, a number of journalists interviewed Kauz and asked him if he had admitted to it. Kauz, however, said with a smile: "It's not a bribe, I'm just helping sports in Uganda and Kenya, and I don't know how they use the money." ”
In the face of his quibbles, the reporters showed a look of disdain. Major reports revealed the truth, and the incident sparked a global backlash, Sydney's reputation plummeted, and our country finally released the resentment that had been pent-up for more than 10 years.
After the defeat in the 1993 Olympic bid, we did not get depressed, but learned a lesson from it, as the old Chinese saying goes: real gold is not afraid of fire. With perseverance, China not only successfully hosted the high-profile 2008 Olympic Games, but also hosted the Winter Olympics again in 2022, leaving indelible memories and countless amazing moments for people around the world.
Our country has once again displayed its strong national strength and demeanor, and if Comrade Xiaoping and the leaders of those years could see today's prosperity, they would certainly feel extremely gratified and proud. ”