Linking Past, Present and Future 

The High-Level Dialogue has as major output the Qingdao Consensus, released at the closure of the conference. The text urges carrying forward the Olympic culture and spirit.

Annex 2: Qingdao Consensus, released in Qindgao on August 12, 2018

“We, representatives at the “High-Level Dialogue on the 10th Anniversary of the 2008 Qingdao Olympic Sailing Competition”, gathered in Qingdao in August 2018, to discuss topics relating to the present and the future of Olympic cities including the promotion of the Olympic culture, the utilization of the Olympic legacy, the development of the sailing sport, and city branding under the theme of “Olympics Adding Charm to the City”, and have reached the following consensus.

-Promote the Olympic culture and carry forward the Olympic Spirit. The Olympic Games, as a global platform for international exchange and interaction in economy, science and technology, culture, education and health, is an important vehicle for host cities to present the culture of its country or region to the world. This dialogue has gathered a large number of famous domestic and international guests from international organizations, Olympic cities and sailing events organizing committees. With the objective of promoting the Olympic culture and carrying forward the Olympic Spirit, we will strengthen the exchange and cooperation among all sides and share the development of the Olympic Movement and the sailing sport.

-Build the brand of the city and make it better known in the world. In recent years, China has made remarkable accomplishments in the sailing sport. Sailing is developing fast with strong momentum across the globe. All parties agree to strengthen exchanges and interactions with IOC, World Sailing and other international sailing organizations. Qingdao, as a host of Olympic sailing competitions, has become a famous sailing city of China. Sailing sport has indeed made the city more vibrant, more fashionable, and more attractive.

-Create a sound atmosphere for the development of sailing sport, bring in and host more well-known international sailing events. To realize sustainable development of the sailing sport, multiple measures should be taken in such areas as the supportive policies, dock infrastructure, popularization of sailing among youngsters and the general public, etc. High-end international sailing events should be brought in. Efforts should also be made to foster independent trademark sailing events with wide international influence. Through holding leisure sailing and other marine sport events, we look to make sailing sport part of a fashionable lifestyle, and enable the Olympic accomplishments to benefit the city’s development.

-Promote the exchange and cooperation among cities, events, organizations and clubs. “High-Level Dialogue on the 10th Anniversary of the 2008 Qingdao Olympic Sailing Competition” offers a high-end platform for in-depth discussions on topics such as the promotion of the Olympic culture, the utilization of the Olympic legacy, the development of the sailing sport and city branding. All the participants agree that we should support the sailing events and international exchange activities held by one another, actively sign cooperation agreements in specialized sailing area. Staring from now, we should jointly build a platform for exchange and contribute to the development of sailing in the world.

We wish the “High-Level Dialogue on the 10th Anniversary of the 2008 Qingdao Olympic Sailing Competition” a complete success. We call for thorough review of the outcomes of the dialogue and sharing of best practices for Olympic city development. We will closely communicate, exchange and cooperate with each other so that we can better realize the wonderful vision of “Olympics Adding Charm to the City”.

A historical moment in the spotlight

Story 1

Yin Jian, Vice Principal of Sichuan Water Sports School and champion of RS-X Women’s Windsurfer at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games joined in the High-Level Dialogue and shared her story. She said that she participated in the Olympic Sailing Competition in Qingdao only ten years ago, and now Qingdao has become a well-known Sailing City. The successful hosting of the Olympic Sailing Competition and the inheritance of the Olympic spirit in the subsequent 10 years have helped Qingdao draw the attention of the world. At the Qingdao Sailing Competition in 2008, Yin Jian had an average start, and the contestants from Spain, Italy and Britain were in the first group. After passing the first buoy, Yin Jian was in fourth place; then after the second, third and fourth buoy, she dropped to fifth place, while the Italian contestant raced to first place at the fourth buoy. If the situation would have continued, the Italian contestant would have won the gold medal. However, “an obstacle sliding route” was added after passing the buoys in the windsurfer race of that Sailing Competition, which gave Yin Jian more time. Finally, at the end of the “obstacle sliding route”, the Spanish and the British contestants bumped into each other when bypassing the buoy, so Yin Jian seized the chance and surpassed the Spanish contestant. Finally, Yin Jian won the gold medal, China’s first gold medal in the sailing races.

Story 2

A unique awarding ceremony of Sailing Competition on the sea, Princess Anne gave a pithy remark.

Under the proposition of the International Sailing Federation and approved by the IOC, Qingdao built an awarding platform on the sea in the minor harbour of the Olympic Sailing Centre. The offshore platform was only dozens of meters away from the main breakwater where the audience was located. The audience was able to enjoy a panoramic view of the awarding ceremony. Guided by the usherette, the medal presenters gave the audience quite a surprise, with the ones for medals of Yngling class races being an honorary IOC member and the former King of Greece Constantine and the one for Finn class races being IOC member HRH Princess Anne of Great Britain. Princess Anne’s words left a deep impression on a female contestant named Sarah in the Yngling class race, “Having undergone a hard past, you are now surrounded by glory.”

Zoom on an (extra)ordinary story

Evoking and sharing one’s own memories of the Olympic Games creates emotional moments and mental pictures that contribute to collective pride and joy. To know more about the special activity proposed to the organizing team, read the annexed text!

Key Challenges

Constant supervision

The work on hosting a large-scale international professional dialogue started in 2017, with a long preparatory period and wide time span, and involving many departments and attendees and lots of details. Efforts are required to overcome slackness to follow and implement the work persistently.

Anticipation required to secure international invitees’ participation

The invited international guests are mainly people in charge from major international organizations such as the IOC and World Sailing. Invitation plans should be made in advance and repeated communication and adjustments should be made to the setting of the agenda and speech content

Evaluation

The venue layout, design and expression forms of the High-Level Dialogue were all displayed according to international standards; the event planning, reception service and marks and guiding signs were all in line with international standards.

Replicability

In the next 10 years, high-level discussion and dialogue on the inheritance and development of Olympic legacy will continue to be held as an important basis for Qingdao’s further efforts in building a world-renowned Sailing City.

Commemoration activities on Qingdao Olympic Sailing Competition will continue to be held on an annual basis. Efforts will be made to incorporate sailing and Olympic spirit into diverse aspects of city life through brand and project cooperation, and other measures, so as to contribute to the city’s sustainable development and the construction of an international metropolis.

We all agree that the high-level discussion and dialogue activities, the brand evaluation and the themed video production and commemorative event can be popularized and replicated in other Olympic cities.