May 01, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 24, 1429

BEIJING / HONG KONG, April 30: China began counting down 100 days to the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday with songs, a mass run and prayers, as the torch arrived back on Chinese soil after a tumultuous world tour.

Unlike run-ups to recent Olympics, Beijing’s preparations have kept to plan and some stadiums and infrastructure have even been completed ahead of schedule.

The city has spent $35-$40 billion on improved infrastructure, including a new airport terminal and subway lines, as well as $2.1 billion to cover the cost of running the Games.

“The 100 days ahead will bring mounting excitement and energy to Beijing,” the International Olympic Committee said.

“Citizens and visitors will see the city continue to transform itself, as it welcomes athletes, the media and spectators for the final test events, as well as for the Games themselves.”

Wednesday’s festivities in Beijing started off under a hazy sky with a run around the Olympic Green by 10,000 Beijing residents, part of China’s promise to make the Games a people’s Olympics.

Catholic churches prayed for a successful Olympic event. One nun told Reuters they forgave people who had disrupted the torch relay.

“Of course we forgive the things that those who don’t understand politics have done,” Angela Teresa Ying said after attending a Mass for the Games at a Beijing cathedral.

The Torch

The red carpet was rolled out in Hong Kong for the torch’s return to the Chinese soil. Three thousand police personnel will guard the torch during its eight-hour relay in the city on Friday.

A highlight of the relay was meant to be the flame’s ascent of the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest.

A second special torch was especially commissioned for the high altitude run from the Tibet side of Everest, but a meteorologist at Everest Base Camp on Wednesday ruled out a climb for at least three days because of the weather.

—Reuters