北京奥运 贵宾云集

In addition to thousands of athletes, more than 80 heads of state and about 30,000 members of the media, another group is expected to invade Beijing in force for the Olympics next month: corporate executives.

Lured by the growing importance of the Chinese market and the chance to help Beijing celebrate its biggest international event yet, the number of chief executives planning to attend the Beijing Games is likely to rival the number at the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, which often attracts more than 1,000 business leaders.

'It goes beyond just a wonderful sporting occasion. There are political and economic implications,' says Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising conglomerate WPP Group PLC, who is planning to attend. 'You could call it a sporting Davos.'

Many executives see the Olympics as a can't-miss event for companies that do business in China, or hope to. Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., is set to attend, for instance, as is General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner.

But the invasion of corporate bigwigs is leading to headaches: How can you give someone VIP treatment when everyone is a VIP?

With dozens of executives flying in on private planes, airspace clearance is a problem. Not to mention front-row seats to hot events -- tickets for the opening ceremony are now going for $50,000 in the gray market.

Olympics officials say that because of traffic controls, some bigwigs will have to forgo their usual limos and take the bus (luxury coaches, of course). Limousine companies say they are almost booked solid. Nearly all the of the dozens of BMWs at First Automobile Leasing Co. have been reserved for the Olympic period for 15,000 yuan ($2,190) daily, quadruple normal rates, says a person in the reservations department.

Space -- as well as tickets -- may be tight. There won't be enough air-conditioned skyboxes at the National Stadium, known as the 'Bird's Nest,' for all the VIPs during the opening ceremony, says John Pauline, an architect who helped oversee the construction of some major Olympic venues. Many corporate chiefs will be seated in 'special' seats -- more plush than most, but without air conditioning. That could be uncomfortably sticky in the enclosed stadium in August, traditionally Beijing's hottest and most humid month. And like all guests, they will have to arrive hours early.

Among the CEOs expected to attend the Games are BP PLC's Tony Hayward; Blackstone Group LP's Stephen Schwarzman; Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s H. Lee Scott Jr. and Terry Leahy, of rival British chain Tesco PLC; Rupert Murdoch, of News Corp., and Motorola Inc.'s Greg Brown. Yahoo Inc. CEO Jerry Yang may be there, though a representative says his plans aren't final. AT&T Inc. CEO Randall Stephenson plans meetings with customers, partners and employees while he is there, a company spokesman says.

Also on the list: the top executives of dozens of Olympics sponsor companies, including McDonald's Corp.'s Jim Skinner, Volkswagen AG's Martin Winterkorn and General Electric Co.'s Jeffrey Immelt. Many of these companies will hold board meetings in Beijing.

The Games draw chiefs of countries, too. George W. Bush will be the first sitting U.S. president to attend an Olympic Games opening ceremony on foreign soil. Despite controversy over some of China's policies -- as seen in the demonstrations during the recent Olympic-torch run -- the number of heads of state planning to attend the opening ceremony is roughly double the number who attended the opening of the Athens Games four years ago.

China's government, worried about security and the prospect of unsightly protests, has made it more difficult for ordinary tourists to get visas this summer and has encouraged many of Beijing's poorer migrant workers to return to their homes elsewhere. But for VIPs, the city is rolling out the red carpet.

'For those who wish to be important in business in China for the next 20 years, people in China will ask you if you were here during the Olympics. And if your answer is 'No,' they'll ask, 'Why?'' says Matt Estes, a Beijing-based businessman who is helping organize a gathering for the Young Presidents' Organization, an international club largely made up of CEOs younger than age 45.

China, long a land of big potential, has become increasingly vital to growth and profitability for a wide swath of companies, especially as the U.S. economy has sagged. China is already the world's biggest cellphone market by number of users and the second-biggest market after the U.S. for products from oil and cars to personal computers. This year, the number of Internet users in China surpassed that in the U.S.

Showing up 'to show support for China' is key for multinationals with stakes in the country, says James McGregor, CEO of consultancy JL McGregor & Co. 'This is China's national achievement test, their way of telling the world, 'We've achieved. Give us credit,'' he adds.

Both the Chinese public and the country's leadership were quick to take offense when some heads of state publicly dithered over whether to attend the opening ceremony, following demonstrations against China's Tibet policies in London, Paris and other Western cities along the global Olympic-torch relay route.

Security experts say that despite the presence of so many important guests, China will be reasonably safe, given the authorities' tight control. Indeed, that could become a problem -- the lockdown on information makes it hard for security officers to plot logistics and plan routes, says Dane Chamorro, regional Asia manager for Control Risks Group Ltd., which handled some security in the 2000 Sydney Games. Sharing information is 'one area [in] which people say organizers have fallen short of expectations,' he says.

Security professionals in Beijing are more in demand to provide concierge-type services such as scheduling and pickups, says Steve Vickers, chief executive of International Risks Ltd. in Hong Kong. 'Beijing is far safer than most places in the U.S.,' he says, adding the greatest risk for people traveling outside Beijing 'is probably traffic accidents.'

在下个月即将举行的北京奥运会上，除了有数千名运动员、80多位国家首脑和约3万名媒体人士之外，预计还会有另外一大批人云集北京：这就是各大企业的高管。

看到中国市场与日俱增的重要性，加上有机会参与庆祝迄今为止北京举办的规模最大的国际活动，各大公司的高管们纷纷计划来京出席奥运会，人数可能与参加瑞士达沃斯世界经济论坛年会的高管不相上下，后者常常会吸引一千多名业界领袖。

广告巨头WPP Group PLC的首席执行长马丁·索瑞尔爵士(Martin Sorrell)说，这不仅仅是一次体育盛会，还有政治和经济上的意义；你可以称之为“体育界的达沃斯”。索瑞尔已经计划出席奥运会了。

很多高管都把奥运会看作是在华设有业务或是计划开展业务的公司所不能错过的大事。比如，微软(Microsoft)董事长比尔·盖茨(Bill Gates)和通用汽车(General Motors)首席执行长里克·瓦格纳(Rick Wagoner)都已经计划出席。

不过，企业要员云集北京也带来了一个令人头痛的问题：在人人都是贵宾时，你又如何为一个人提供贵宾服务？

奥运期间将有数十位企业高管乘私人飞机来京，那么净空就成了问题。更别提热门赛事的前排座位了──现在奥运开幕式的门票在黑市上已经炒到了5万美元。

奥运官员表示，由于实行交通管制，一些要人将不得不放弃通常的豪华汽车，改乘巴士了（当然是豪华巴士）。豪华汽车租赁公司称，所有的高档车几乎都已预定一空。北汽九龙福斯特汽车租赁公司(First Automobile Leasing Co.)预定部的一名员工说，该公司数十辆宝马(BMW)几乎都预定光了，日租金为人民币1.5万元（合2,190美元），是平时费用的四倍。

奥运场馆的空间和赛事门票可能都会很紧张。参与监督奥运主场馆施工的建筑师约翰·鲍林(John Pauline)说，在开幕式期间，国家体育馆“鸟巢”里没有足够多装有空调的包厢给贵宾们使用；很多公司高管都会坐在“特别”座位上，虽然比大部分座位都舒 ，但还是没有空调。8月份通常是北京最闷热的月份，加上在封闭的体育馆里，没有空调会让人感觉浑身粘粘的，非常不舒服。而且同所有观众一样，他们得提前几小时到场。

预计将出席北京奥运会的首席执行长包括：英国石油公司(BP PLC)的唐熙华(Tony Hayward)、百仕通集团(Blackstone Group)的苏世民(Stephen Schwarzman)、沃尔玛连锁公司(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)的斯科特(H. Lee Scott Jr.)、英国连锁超市Tesco PLC 的特里·莱希(Terry Leahy)、资讯集团(News Corp.)的默多克(Rupert Murdoch)、以及摩托罗拉(Motorola)的格里格·布朗(Greg Brown)。雅虎(Yahoo)首席执行长杨致远(Jerry Yang)可能会参加，不过公司的一位代表说他的计划还没有最后确定。美国电话电报公司(AT&T Inc.)的一位发言人说，公司首席执行长兰道尔·斯蒂芬森(Randall Stephenson)计划在北京停留期间同客户、合作伙伴和员工会面。

参加奥运会的还有数十家奥运赞助商的高管们，包括麦当劳(McDonald's Corp.)的吉姆·斯金纳(Jim Skinner)、大众汽车(Volkswagen AG)的文德恩(Martin Winterkorn)和通用电气(General Electric)的杰弗里·伊梅尔特(Jeffrey Immelt)。其中很多公司都会在北京召开董事会。

奥运会还吸引来各国元首。布什(George W. Bush)将成为首位去国外出席奥运会开幕式的美国在任总统。虽然外界对中国的一些政策仍有争议──从奥运火炬传递中发生的抗议活动便可见一斑──但计划出席北京奥运会开幕式的国家元首人数还是比四年前的雅典奥运会多出一倍左右。

由于担心安全问题和可能发生的不雅抗议活动，中国政府收紧了签证政策，今年夏天不仅普通游客获得签证的难度加大，政府还鼓励很多在京务工的低收入者奥运期间返乡。不过对贵宾来说，北京已准备铺开红地毯了。

在北京工作的商业人士马特·埃斯特斯(Matt Estes)说，对于那些希望未来20年在中国市场占据重要地位的人，中国人会问你奥运会时是否来北京了；如果你回答说“没有”，他们就会问“为什么？”埃斯特斯正参与组织青年总裁协会(Young Presidents' Organization)的一次聚会，这个国际俱乐部的会员大部分是年龄在45岁以下的首席执行长。

中国长久以来就是一个充满潜力的国家，如今对一大批公司的发展和盈利能力而言，其重要性更是与日俱增，尤其是眼下美国经济滑坡之际。中国已经是世界上手机用户最多的市场，也是仅次于美国的全球第二大石油、汽车、个人电脑市场。今年，中国的互联网用户已经超过了美国。

麦健陆顾问有限公司(JL McGregor & Co.)的首席执行长麦健陆(James McGregor)说，参与奥运、以此显示对中国的支持，这对那些在中国开展业务的跨国公司来说至关重要。他谈到，这是对中国国家成就的一次检验，他们通过奥运会告诉世界，“我们做到了，赞许我们吧”。

北京奥运火炬全球传递期间，伦敦、巴黎等西方城市发生了抗议中国西藏政策的活动，之后一些国家的元首在是否出席奥运开幕式的问题上公开表示迟疑，这触怒了中国百姓和政府高层，他们迅速展开了反击。

安保专家表示，鉴于政府的严格控制，尽管届时会有大批贵宾出席奥运会，中国还是比较安全的。Control Risks Group Ltd.亚洲区经理丹·查莫罗(Dane Chamorro)说，这可能的确是个问题，对信息的控制会使安保人员研究物流和制定路线时颇有难度。该公司在2000年悉尼奥运会上负责过部分安保工作。查莫罗指出，缺乏信息共享是人们认为组委会没有达到公众预期的问题之一。

International Risks Ltd.驻香港的首席执行长史蒂夫·维克斯(Steve Vickers)谈到，北京的安保专业人士更多的是需要提供行程安排和接送等接待服务。他说，北京比美国大部分地方都要安全好多，在北京以外旅游的人面临的最大风险或许就是交通事故。 （实习编辑：顾萍）