World Briefs -- Panasonic Extends IOC Partnership; Beijing Baseball Stadium Replaced

Panasoic Adds Digital Camera Marketing Rights to Sponsorship

Panasonic extends its partnership with the IOC, announcing the addition of global marketing rights for digital cameras to the audio and visual equipment category it fills as a TOP sponsor. The Japanese company takes over the rights from Kodak, which decided not to renew its deal with the IOC after the Beijing Olympics.

It means Panasonic has the supply rights for digital camera equipment at Vancouver 2010, London 2012, Sochi 2014 and the 2016 Olympics.

Announcing the deal, Toshihiro Sakamoto, president of AVC Networks Company of Panasonic, said the agreement would allow the company "to bring LUMIX digital cameras to the world sporting arena."

"LUMIX has always been an important segment of our High Definition audio and visual equipment line-up," he said.

Vancouver 2010 CEO John Furlong said Panasonic's continued innovation and contribution in High Definition technology "will enable visitors to the Games to more deeply share and experience the unmatched excitement of the Games."

Beijing Venue Faces Wrecking Ball

The developer of the baseball stadium for the Beijing Games said the venue would be torn down and replaced by a shopping mall.

"Our preliminary plan is to supply Beijing residents with a leisure center, combined with shopping, culture, sports and entertainment," Guo Jinjao, deputy manager of the development company, The baseball venue for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing is slated to be demolished. (Getty Images)told the Beijing News.

The 15,000-seat Wukesong Sports Center baseball field, which was built to be a temporary facility, will become the first Olympic venue to be demolished.

With the exception of a Major League Baseball exhibition game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres last March, the facility has been unable to attract more events other than the Olympics.

"It could only be guaranteed if there were enough activities to attract people to the venue. We absolutely could not accept any suggestion of (keeping the field) to be used only once or twice a year," Guo said.

China's Olympic Tourist Boom Fizzles

An expected increase in tourism from Beijing hosting the Olympics didn't materialize for China as the number of foreign tourists visiting the country declined by two million last year. China's National Tourism Administration Director Shao Qiwei said the country had 130 million tourists in 2008, a drop from 128 million in 2007.

"All major inbound source markets, except for Hong Kong and Russia, slumped last year amid the economic downturn," Shao was quoted in the state-run China Daily newspaper.

The article also stated that the decrease in tourists was the first China has experienced since 2003.

Australia Prepares for Youth Olympic Festival

Sydney is ready to welcome 1,500 athletes as the Australian Youth Olympic Festival gets under way with its opening ceremony at the Sydney Entertainment Centre next Wednesday.

A total of 25 nations will participate in the AYOF, taking place Jan. 14-18, with host Australia leading the way with 660 athletes and officials. China (273), New Zealand (229), Great Britain (190) and Japan (117) are among the other major delegations.

A special message from IOC President Jacques Rogge and a segment celebrating the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore will be among the highlights of the opening ceremony. It will also include entertainment from Australian pop stars.

The main sports in the AYOF, which debuted in 2001 and are held every two years, include track The 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival will get under way in Sydney next Wednesday. (Getty Images)and field, swimming, diving, gymnastics, cycling, canoe/kayak, rowing and shooting. Triathlon and beach volleyball return to the program for the first time since 2001.

2010 Commonwealth Games Chief Satisfied with Preparations

Indian OlympicAssociation President and 2010 Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee chair Suresh Kalmadi is encouraged by the progress that New Delhi is making in preparation for the event after an inspection Tuesday.

With about 30 percent of the work on the venues and infrastructure complete for the Commonwealth Games, Kalmadi is confident that everything will be ready on time. The Games take place in New Delhi, Oct. 3-14, 2010.

"Most of the infrastructure will be ready by December this year." Kalmadi said. "By March next year, we can have the test events."

Kalmadi is especially pleased with the progress made on the renovation of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue for the 2010 Games. The stadium’s capacity is being reduced from 75,000 to 60,000 and reconfigured to be more spectator-friendly.

...Briefs

...The Olympic Council of Malaysia says Laos will host 26 sports, instead of the 25 that was originally reported, at the Southeast Asia Games Dec. 9-18 in the country's capital Vientiane. OCM secretary general Datuk Sieh Kok Chi said soft tennis was wrongly included as part of tennis.

...U.S. Sailing has named 2008 Summer Olympic gold medalist Anna Tunnicliffe as its 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. The 26-year-old Tunnicliffe, who won the gold in the Laser Radial class in Beijing, was one of five finalists for the award and was the unanimous choice of a panel of sailing journalists.

Written by Greg Oshust.