The BBC reports that Shanghai’s hosting of the Special Olympics this week may be a preview of things to come for the 2008 Olympics, if all goes well:
On the days leading up to the opening ceremony, the entire area around Shanghai’s Olympic Stadium will be completely shut down to all traffic; a feat of management beyond comprehension in a city populated by 17million people.
Artifical rain suppressant systems are also in place – just in case poor weather attempts to ruin the first day.
And in a drill on Sunday night, the authorities actually set fire to the gymnastics stadium with 100 volunteers inside, to test their disaster response capabilities. [Full text]
