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Bay Area students have helped celebrate Hong Kong as an Olympic co-host city through participation in a poster design competition jointly organised by Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, San Francisco, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
"The Chronicle in Education Program was proud to partner with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office to bring this unique event to the Bay Area. The contest allowed people to participate creatively in the Olympic excitement and bring the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Event to life," Director of Retail Sales and New Business Development, San Francisco Chronicle, Ms Dee Mostofi, said at the prize presentation ceremony on August 7 (San Francisco time).
Open to students of all ages, the Olympic Equestrian Events Poster Design Competition ran from May to June. Three top prize winners and three consolation winners were selected.
Grand Prize winner Wai-man Au, who won two Cathay Pacific round-trip air tickets from San Francisco to Hong Kong, is a California State University student specialising in animation art. Congratulating Wai-man Au, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco Ms Doris Cheung said she was glad to see Bay Area students sharing the Olympic spirit.
"Hong Kong is proud to be the co-host city of the Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events and we are ready to stage the best Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events," Ms Cheung said.
"There will be a record 218 horses from 42 countries/regions participating in the events which will begin this Saturday.
"The Hong Kong Jockey Club has invested more than US$150 million to build world-class facilities for the Equestrian Events with a number of unique features and Olympic firsts including the first six-star accommodation for horses, first on-site testing laboratory for Olympic equine samples, first recycling of 100% of Olympic stable waste, first air-conditioned indoor training arena in Olympic history, fastest creation of Olympic equestrian facilities (under two years), and first mobile cooling units for horses," Ms Cheung said.
She also invited the winners to view "Hong Kong Reins", a special 30-minute TV program on Hong Kong as an Olympic co-host city and Asia's world city. It will be broadcast on NBC Bay Area just before the airing of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies. They were also invited to join the celebration at the Beijing Olympic Viewing Celebration in downtown San Jose where a Hong Kong booth will be set up. "Hong Kong Reins" will also be carried live on a big screen at St James Park, San Jose.
Other winners of the competition are Julianna Narita, second prize winner; Caitlin Kiefer, third prize winner. In addition, Catherine Cronwall, Dennis Chan and Jacky Tsang were awarded a Certificate of Merit.
Ends/Friday, August 8, 2008
Issued at HKT 11:37
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