Women hoping to become hostesses at next year’s Olympic Games medal ceremonies must meet a set of criteria which might be thought to be male chauvinistic: no tattoos, no big bottoms, and cut down on the earrings.

Selection is currently under way to find hostesses for Olympic test events taking place later this year and early next year in the run-up to the August, 2008 Games in the Chinese capital.

According to the Beijing News, 208 hostesses are needed for 23 test events in a selection process which, although separate from the Olympics next year, offers successful candidates hope of being considered for the Games.

Quoting officials selecting candidates for medal ceremonies and other protocol activities, state media reported that tattoos and earrings tend to look sleazy (a matter of personal opinion), while big bottoms could stick out too much.

Li Ning, principal of Beijing Institute of Protocol, who is heading the selection process, said, ‘We don’t want anyone who looks in any way sleazy because that could really put athletes off.’ She can speak for herself. There are athletes who become positively animated by the slightly sleazy look.

Lin Ning will not have a bar of it. She said experts were looking for women of uniform height with neat bottoms and minus body art and ear studs. Glossy skin was another asset. Which means, sadly, that Missy Elliott in our picture does not have a chance. Her bottom is neat, perfectly neat but the ear-rings and the bling jewelry will work against her. Damn.

Lin Ning said, ‘Bone structure and height should be uniform. For example, we don’t want any wide bottoms.’
The Star Online

Beijing wants 4,000 bilingual volunteers to provide language services during the 2008 Olympic Games. But, wait, there is more.

The organizers want to be able to provide interpreting services in 56 languages. (Luckily Welsh is not among them.) They need multilingual volunteers not just to help visitors but for media who, on past experience, speak no language but their own, are temperamental and get lost a lot. So the Beijing Olympic Games Volunteer Work Coordination Group is looking for volunteers.

‘We are most in need of speakers of 26 languages, such as Afghan, Indonesian and languages spoken in some African countries, ‘ said Du Yunhe, an official in charge of publicity.

Organizers say the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, which begin on Aug. 8, need 70,000 volunteers. The following Paralympics need about 30,000 volunteers

At the end of March, organizers had received 400,000 applications from people wanting to volunteer. The first batch of the volunteers, to be selected before this August, will start working on this year’s test events, according to Du.

Volunteers will be provided meals but they must pay their own transport to and from Beijing and accommodation in the Chinese capital.
Source: People’s Daily Online