Olympic Games not only makes incredible improvement of a host city, but also leaves an everlasting and sweet memory in every host's mind.
Some of the Bangkok Universiade's participants coming from former Olympic host cities told Xinhua here that they were willing to share their Olympic experiences with Beijingers.
Gianni Merlo from Italy said that the hosting of 2006 Winter Games turned the image of host Turin around.
"Before the Olympics, Turin is not a very popular city in Italy. It is far and cold, not as popular as Milan and Rome," said the journalist from La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"But during the Olympics, people went out at night even if it was cold. Everywhere was crowded," he said. "Olympics is very important for the city. Italians realize that Turin is a good city. "
Former American wrestler Reid Lamphere agreed and said the 1996 Olympics changed his hometown Atlanta from a boring city to a fun place.
"There was a big board on the freeway going into the city, coming into the downtown of Atlanta. They put up the countdown, so everyday when you drove by it was one day closer. So it was going exciting. I remember clearly seeing it on the final days coming down," he recalled.
"They were building the Olympic park downtown Atlanta. And downtown Atlanta was pretty boring before that. The people I worked with were very excited. They talked more and more about it. Probably the last three months, it was really in the newspaper all the time," he said.
Sharon Myhre-Davis from Australia, a volunteer of the Sydney Olympics, was most impressed by the positive impact the Olympics dealt on people's daily life.
The Melbourne-native drove the softball officials at the Olympics and enjoyed very much the different but friendly atmosphere.
"It was totally different. People said we were friendly, yes, because I felt that too. Everyone is so friendly to each other. You know, on usual days, we were just rushing to work," said Myhre- Davis, an Australian softball team official at the Bangkok Universiade.
"This kind of mood started before the Games, and lasted through it and perhaps six months afterwards. So it was really a year of goodwill," she added.
Having experienced the Olympic Games on home soil, they knew what Chinese would have and maybe more.
"After the Olympics, Beijing will be different. People will be coming and get together. Everyone will be excited because Olympics is such a unique moment for people to live something together," said Merlo.
The Beijing Olympics Games will open on Aug. 8, 2008.
Source: Xinhua
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