Budweiser Olympic Bike Tour Ends in Beijing
BEIJING (Aug. 6, 2007) – After a month-long, 11-city journey, the Budweiser Olympic Bike Tour concluded in Beijing today, nearly one year before the start of 2008 Olympic Games. More than 10,000 people participated in the bike tour including celebrities, former Olympic medal winners and government officials.
“Sports have always been a very important part of the Budweiser spirit, and we are honored to host the bike tour,” said YR Cheng, chairman of the Budweiser (Wuhan) International Brewing Co., Ltd. “Budweiser hopes through similar activities, more and more people will take part in events to welcome the world to Beijing and share Budweiser’s great enthusiasm for the 2008 Olympic Games.”
The bike tour started in Guangzhou on July 7 and was divided into eastern and western routes. The western route traveled through Kunming, Chengdu, Changsha and Xian, while the eastern route passed through Shantou, Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Nanjing. Both tours finished in Beijing today.
The closing ceremony was held outside Beijing at the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China. Several athletes and celebrities attended the event including Xu Haifeng, China’s first Olympic gold medal winner, Olympic champion marksman Yang Ling, Taekwondo gold medal winner Luo Wei and singer Sun Nan.
The Olympic champions talked about their Olympic experiences as well as their hopes for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. After the speeches, more than 1,000 riders and their Olympic heroes finished the final leg of the bike tour.
To celebrate the conclusion of the bike tour, a 2,008 square-meter flag was unveiled and flown at the foot of the Great Wall of China. The creation of the giant red flag required enormous effort from people living in various cities across China. Upon arriving at each city, riders carried with them a red flag and invited the local people to write their names on it. The red flags were then sent to Beijing to form one large flag.
The bike tour is one of many Budweiser promotional activities for the 2008 Olympic Games. The brand also has launched a series of beer cans specially designed for the Olympics and put the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games logo on most of its 330 ml bottles.
Based in St. Louis, Anheuser Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.4 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine’s Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2007. Anheuser Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum cans. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.