[what follows is discarded prose, a story I started that went nowhere]
Back in the third century BC, aiming to impress the world, Dionysius of Syracuse sent to the Olympics fancy pavilions and several teams of horses. To entertain spectators, he hired professional actors to recite poetry. “At first the multitude thronged together because of the pleasing voices of the actors” wrote a contemporary observer, “and all were filled with wonder.” Unfortunately the poetry Dionysius chose was his own. “But on second consideration, when they observed how poor his verses were, they laughed Dionysius to scorn.” Some, it seems, “went so far in their rejection that some of them even ventured to rifle the tents.”
At the modern Olympics the urge to impress the world remains, even if it has taken different forms. The Dutch have taken Dionysius one better, making their pavilion out of a Museum the size of a large city block, renamed the Holland House, which is stuffed full of Dutch curiosities and equipped with spotlights that penetrate what they can of the Beijing sky. The Holland House admits all foreigners, and Chinese who bear invitations. Last Wednesday the main beer hall featured a man with a large orange swirl for a head, dancing rave style to Dutch techno music. As Sherrisse Pham, a longtime Beijing resident put it, “that’s Holland for you.”
A more American way of doing things is captured by “Club Bud,” also set up for the Olympics. Club Bud is an unlikely combination of the downhome Budweiser beer brand, and the snobby, celebrity-centered club culture of New York or Los Angeles. A goal of Club Bud, according to a statement by marketing manager Mike Thompson, is to be “the hardest ticket to get.” A velvet rope, generally unknown to Beijing, graces the entrance. Instead of the usual celebrities, it is atheletes who are the attraction, along with American sports celebrities like boxing champion Evander Holyfeld. Tickets for Club Bud are indeed difficult to come by, as only the wealthy, the connected, and the highly athletic are welcome.
But it is the hosts who are making truly Dionysiusian efforts to impress the world and themselves. At the Olympic events, the venues, especially the national swimming center or Bird’s Nest stadium, are showcases first and sports arenas second. For many locals and some tourists, the point is to get into them and be part of the Olympics – the sports, somewhere down below, seem secondary. As Dai Lu, a young member of the communist party who attended swimming heats told me, “its the olympics and the architecture, its new beijing, that’s why we want to get in.”
…
