Former IOC President Jacques Logue speaks at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. Infographic/Osports
On 30 August, jacques Logue, former president of the International Olympic Committee, died at the age of 79. As president of the International Olympic Committee for 12 years, Logue has not only made important contributions to the healthy development of the international Olympic movement, but also provided great help to the cause of Chinese sports, and he once praised the Beijing Olympic Games as "unparalleled" and an old friend of the Chinese people.
He visited China for the first time in 1987
Logue first visited China in 1987, and since then, Logue has visited and inspected China several times because of the Beijing Olympic Games. In an interview in 2011, he said, "Look at the photos of me coming to China in 1987, what happened in China is a three-dimensional, earth-shaking change, and what has not changed is the enthusiasm and hospitality of the people." ”
In November 2001, Logue, who had just become president of the International Olympic Committee, visited Guangzhou, attended the opening ceremony of the 9th National Games, and praised the opening ceremony. In 2005 and 2009, Logue attended the opening ceremonies of the 10th and 11th National Games in Nanjing and Jinan, which made the National Games attract worldwide attention.
In November 2010, Logue visited Guangzhou again to attend the opening ceremony of the Guangzhou Asian Games, and said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, "This is an absolutely wonderful opening ceremony, the high-tech means are very good, and the performance is full of emotions." I really like the idea of using the Pearl River and water for activities. The stage for the opening ceremony is set against the backdrop of the entire city and looks very beautiful. ”
The Youth Olympic Games were officially founded at the suggestion of Logue, and Nanjing is the host city of the second Youth Olympic Games, and Logue has visited China many times to investigate the preparatory work. In August 2014, Rogge had stepped down as president of the International Olympic Committee, but during the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, he attended the opening ceremony and related activities, and publicly stated, "I believe that China will continue to contribute to the promotion of the Olympic spirit, thank you." ”
Logue visited Wuxi and had cordial exchanges with He Zhenliang, former President of the Chinese Olympic Committee. Infographic/Osports
Praising the Beijing Olympic Games as "unparalleled"
Shortly after the successful bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Logue came to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Ninth Games, and when asked why he gave the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing, he replied: "China has nearly 1.3 billion people, and I have 1.3 billion good reasons to choose Beijing." During the preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games, Logue attached great importance to and visited China many times, saying that China had done a lot of fruitful work for the successful hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games, stressing that the International Olympic Committee would continue to support China in running the Olympic Games, and believed that the Beijing Olympic Games would be a complete success.
Every time he came to China, Logue would set aside a special time to learn about Chinese culture, "I have been to many cities in China, but I guess that is only a small part, because China is too big and too vast." 」 Beijing has the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, Shanghai has Pudong, Xi'an Terracotta Warriors also left a deep impression on me, I have also been to Nanjing, which is a very beautiful city, Guangzhou is also very charming. What impressed me most about China was that its culture was so colorful. ”
At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on the evening of August 8, 2008, Logue said in his speech: "When we turn the Olympic dream into reality, we must sincerely thank the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee and thank them for their tireless work. We would also like to give special thanks to the thousands of selfless volunteers who would not have been possible without them. ”
At the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on the evening of August 24, 2008, Logue gave a high evaluation: "Thank you to the Chinese people, thank you to all the outstanding volunteers, and thank you to the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee." Through this Olympic Games, the world has learned more about China, and China has learned more about the world. This is a truly unparalleled Olympic Games. ”
In November of that year, the Beijing Olympic Games summary meeting was held in London, and Logue specifically mentioned, "This Olympic Games has highlighted the wonderful performances of athletes to the greatest extent, shocked and excited the world, and triggered a wave of media coverage and global attention." Beijing attracted the largest audience in Olympic history. According to our calculations, two out of three people in the world watched the Beijing Olympics online or on television. ”
Today, more than a decade later, 79-year-old Jacques Logue is gone, and Chinese will always remember this warm and friendly old friend.
Beijing News reporter Xu Bangyin
Edited by Han Shuangming Proofreader Wei Zhuo