Urban service volunteers are people who will provide voluntary services at stations around the competition venues and the key areas of the city to ensure the smooth progress of the Games and regular operations of the city.

A total of 110,657 people have applied to be volunteers for urban services during the 2008 Olympic Games since the recruitment began a month ago. The aimed for figure is an eventual 400,000.

61% of the applicants are women.
The youngest is 13 years old and the oldest 79 years.
Those aged 13 - 36 years constitute 90.8% and the middle school students aged 13 - 17 form a significant part of the applicants.
The urban service applicants generally have an excellent cultural and professional background. 76% described English as their first foreign language.
Volunteers for information services represent 52.4%, emergency services 34% and translation services 13.6%.
More than half say they can serve a session of at least seven days.
The registration process started on June 18, 2007 and will end in June 2008.

During the Games, some 500 service stations will be set up in Beijing’s districts and counties and the volunteers will provide information, emergency and translation services.

The illustration shows Chen Zhili, Chinese state councilor and first vice president of the Organizing Committee for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with a volunteer during the launch ceremony of the volunteer program.
Source: Olympic Website