Export strength in Beijing 2008

Tim Harcourt, chief economist of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) describes how expertise from Australia helped Beijing put on the most spectacular show on earth

As I moved around a noisy, smoggy but very excited capital city during the Beijing Olympics last year, I noticed signs of Australia everywhere.

The most visible symbol was the magnificent water cube designed by PTW architects. PTW won the Beijing contract after Austrade entered them in a Beijing Olympics competition – bidding for design for the main arenas and the Olympic Village – on the back of their award winning design at for the Aquatic Centre Homebush at the Sydney Games in 2000. I attended the swimming finals with PTW CEO John Bilmon, who has become something of a ‘rock-star’ architect, with everyone asking for his photo outside the water cube.

Australian designers and architects in general have done very well at the Olympic Games, with at least six major Olympic arenas being Australian-designed and many Australians acting as consultants to those designed locally by their Chinese counterparts.

Outside Beijing too, Australian architects such as Bligh Voller Nield, Cox Architects, URS, and Allen Jack + Cottier, Tim Court & Co designed venues such as the sailing base in Qiangdao, the stadium in Tianjin and the Hong Kong Equestrian Centre.

Australia has also made a major contribution to high profile symbols of the Games. For example BHP Billiton provided the ores in the medals. Bluescope provided materials for the Olympic Torch, and the Torch relay was organised by Australian company, Maxxam International, led by their energetic managing director Di Henry.

And behind the scenes, Australian exporters – large and small – had been helping China to put on the greatest show on earth. For example, the lighting control systems in the hotels and the Olympic venues have been manufactured by Sydney company Dynalite led by the irrepressible Jimmy Du; the smoke alarm systems by Xtralis; the artificial turf in the hockey field engineered by Sports Technology International and Argus providing the mobile phone antennae in another Olympic landmark, the “bird’s nest” stadium.

Logistics was organised by Linfox and Smart Trans and companies like Biograde and Roaring 40s helped Beijing with the environmental aspects of the Games. Australia’s Trade Minister Simon Crean led a major clean energy mission to China to demonstrate Australian environmental credentials that was well received in Beijing and Guangzhou. In addition, companies like Great Big Events and Major Event Planning are helping Beijing with event management and sports marketing.

When the caravan packed up and left Beijing, Australian exporters started gearing up for 2012. After all, the race for Olympic business never ends, and GFC or no GFC, Australian companies can hear London calling. Companies that were big in Beijing are already involved in building the infrastructure for London 2012 with well known names such as Westfield, HOK Sport Architecture, Sinclair Knight Merz, Intelligent Risks, PTW Architects, Bligh Voller Nield, Cleanevent, Denton Corker Marshall all doing their bit.

Business Club Australia, Australia’s official business program for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, hosted a special event to highlight Australian Olympic capability to core members of the London 2012 team. Austrade’s Senior Trade Commissioner for the UK, Kylie Hargreaves, said: “With 2012 now on the horizon we thought it timely for the UK and Australia to network as the “big build” begins for the London Games and Beijing is the perfect place to showcase our expertise.”