奥运奖牌设计将公开

The design of the medals to be used at next year's Olympics will be unveiled on Tuesday to mark the start of the 500-day countdown to the opening of the Games, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) said.

The unveiling ceremony will be held at the Capital Museum of China, at which the medals will be displayed and the concept behind their design explained.

To mark the start of the 500-day countdown, about 40 sports and cultural activities will be held across the capital this week.

Ahead of those, two mass-participation events were held yesterday morning the 2007 International Long Walk Carnival and the 2007 International Long Distance Running Festival. Both attracted tens of thousands of people who were keen to show their enthusiasm for the Games by running or walking their way around the city.

The fourth Long Walk Carnival, which was held at eastern Beijing's Chaoyang Park, attracted more than 10,000 participants, who tackled an 18-kilometer course divided into five laps to represent the five Olympic rings. Those who managed to finish were awarded a certificate and a commemorative "volunteer smile" wristband.

"I'm very happy to have been part of this promotion for the Beijing Games. It was great to see the Olympic spirit of participation," Zhang Li, a college student from Beijing, said.

Of the events planned for this week, some of the most significant relate to the Beijing 2008 volunteer program.

The slogan for the program will be announced at a special ceremony this evening, at which the city's 10 best volunteers from last year will also be recognised. Also, on Wednesday, the recruitment of volunteers from overseas will begin.
第29届北京奥运会组委会(BOCOG) 说，星期二将揭示用于明年奥运会的奖牌设计，以标志奥运会开幕式500天倒计时开始。 揭幕仪式将在首都博物馆举行，在那里将展示奖牌并阐释其设计理念。 为标志500天倒计时开始，本周大约有40项体育和文化活动将在首都各处举行。 此前，两项大众参与的活动2007年国际浪漫嘉年华和2007国际长跑节已于昨天早上举行。两项活动都吸引了上万名群众，他们渴望用他们环城的奔跑或步行展现他们对奥运会的热情。 第四届浪漫嘉年华在北京东部的朝阳公园举行，吸引了超过10,000名参与者，它将18公里的路程分为五圈以代表奥运的五环。 那些努力完成的人们被颁发证书和“志愿者的微笑”纪念袖章&<60; 。 "我很高兴成为这项推进北京奥运会的活动的一分子。能够参与见证奥林匹克精神真的太好了。" 来自北京的一位大学生张力说。 本周的活动安排，最重要的是有关北京2008的志愿者计划。 该计划的口号将在今晚的一个特别典礼上宣布，在该典礼上， 去年的全市10佳志愿者将得到确认。同时，海外志愿者招募将从周三开始。 本周活动的目的是让尽可能多的群众加入明年奥运会的准备之中来，其遵循的主题是“我参与，我奉献和我享受”。 这些活动包括本地社区间的乒乓球比赛、一个盛大的奥林匹克歌曲舞会和一个历届奥运会经典时刻的展览.
The aim of this week's events is to involve as many people as possible in the preparations for next year's Games, which follows the theme of, "I Participate, I Contribute and I Enjoy".

The events include table tennis competitions among local communities, a concert featuring Olympic songs, and an exhibition of classic moments from past Games.