Beijing set for 1st countdown

Beijing will stage its largest marketing coup to brand the city's cultural credentials since the 2008 Olympic Games on the last day of 2011, by joining with the world's other major cities in counting down to the New Year at the Temple of Heaven.

The Chinese capital's first official New Year's Eve outdoor celebration will feature a lavish laser and light show, against the backdrop of one of the city's historic landmarks, where emperors performed elaborate ceremonies to worship the heavens on the Winter Solstice. This marks Beijing's latest major project to boost its position as a world city.

"After the Olympics, we know we can put together a big event," Sun Weijia, vice chairman of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, the government agency that plans the event, said at the rehearsal. "It's about time, too."

The show puts Beijing on the map again, Sun said, as it now proudly joins global New Year's Eve countdown traditions.

"The other big cities also in the celebrations are New York City, London, Paris and Sydney," he said. "But in our time zone, there's just Hong Kong."

"It will be stunning," said Ren Jianghao, meeting and incentive director of the commission, before the rehearsal of the show on Thursday. "Beaming 3D images on the curved surfaces of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (the centerpiece of the Temple of Heaven) wasn't easy. It took more careful calibration than if we were working on flat surfaces. But we pulled it off."

The videos, put together by Jack Morton Worldwide, will showcase the four seasons of the city, the faces of ordinary Chinese people, and will seek to convey the beauty and culture of the capital. A 10-minute video will start at 15 minutes before midnight featuring the "Beijing Spirit," of patriotism, innovation, inclusiveness and virtue.

At five minutes before midnight, 960 students will begin cycling on the Red Stairway Bridge linking the altar and the hall of prayer. The cycling will generate power and light up LED panels on the cyclists' jackets, a symbolic move to advocate the green, low-carbon concept.

The bridge will also be covered with LED screens and will display animated images. The entire 800-meter axis of the Temple of Heaven will be lit up in sync as the countdown progresses. The countdown will culminate with "Happy New Year" flashed on the major architecture of the temple along with virtual fireworks, followed by another short video.

The three areas, the altar, the bridge, and the hall of prayer, represent the harmonious coexistence of heaven, earth and humanity.

The normal tradition of fireworks will be ditched. "It wouldn't be good for the environment," said Sun.

With the show, the city's officials aim to tell the world about Beijing's cultural attractiveness and also to generate more tourism revenue.

The city now offers few outdoor activities during its long winter, which can be bitterly cold, except for skiing and some revitalized temple fairs around the Chinese New Year.

"But Beijing should be more than just skiing and spas in winter," said Sun, adding that he hopes the New Year's Eve countdown will eventually become another hot event to come to Beijing during the off-season.

Only 3,000 spectators, pre-invited to participate in the event, will watch the show and shout "Happy New Year!" at midnight.

Security and artifacts protection concerns due to lots of staging and wiring inside the temple mean the organizers could not bring in a bigger live audience, Sun said, and the 144-hectare park of the Temple of Heaven will be closed to visitors the entire day.

However, the live audience was not the primary target. "We hope to reach hundreds of millions of television viewers and Web users around the world," said Sun.

The celebration is designed to be a large media event. One hundred reporters and TV crews were offered the best seats in the house.

Intermittent live broadcasts by Beijing Television Station will start at 6:45 pm, while China's leading video content websites Tudou and LeTV stream pre-show footage and the final 10-second countdown.

Images of the show will also be provided free to AP, Reuters and Getty Images for overseas audiences.

Beijing is also eyeing potential revenue in the widely televised event. Hundreds of millions of people watch the countdown celebrations every year in Times Square, New York and at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Viewings net some cities returns that are eight times higher than the investment put into their shows.

"Hopefully, with security clearance, we will do the countdown at different venues in the future and gather bigger live audiences," said Sun. "Beijing is unique with its cultural heritage and the vigor of a booming international city. It's enough to sustain a fabulous event."