China Open...
[Xinhua-PRNewswire Report]
Whitney Houston Sings for China Open
Thursday July 22, 9:13 am ET
BEIJING, July 22 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- July 25 will mark the second
Official China Open Launch Event when American-Diva Whitney Houston takes
the stage at the National Olympic Sports Centre in celebration of the launch
of China's premier annual sporting event.
"The first Official China Open Launch
Event was a great success with the attendance of top players Marat Safin and
Paradorn Srichaphan in November of last year. At that time our Organizing
Committee clearly communicated to the world that our objective is to develop
the China Open into one of the top five tennis tournaments in the world and
Asia's premier sports event and to position it as the leading event in our
Nation's preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games. We are confident that
Whitney Houston live in concert will also be a tremendous success and will
once again reiterate our commitment to build the China Open into a great
global event," said Mr. Lincoln Venancio, Tournament Director of China Open.
Whitney Houston Live in Celebration of China Open will be held on July 25
and is expected to be a blockbuster success with the Beijing population. The
concert is expected to attract over 25,000 fans.
"Everyone knows Ms. Houston's music. To a great extent, her music transcends
time, languages and cultural differences in a very similar fashion as
tennis. We are very pleased that she will perform at the China Open's second
launch event. It will be a great day for Beijing, China, music and tennis,"
said Mr. Zhang Yabin, Vice Chairman of China Open Organizing Committee.
Professional tennis players have always been known for their interest and
love for music with many former top players becoming involved in the field
professionally following their retirement from the tennis courts including
John McEnroe, Pat Cash and Yannik Noah.
"Music is great! A lot of players on the Tour, including myself, enjoy music
a lot. I think it is great that Whitney Houston will be performing in
Beijing in celebration of China Open," said the new Princess of Wimbledon
Maria Sharapova.
"This is a great way to launch the China Open. It clearly shows the
significance of the Event and I am very much looking forward to playing in
Beijing. I definitely want to win the first-ever China Open and put an
exclamation mark to what Whitney is starting," said six-time Grand Slam
title winner Serena Williams.
The China Open Organizing Committee also confirmed that a third Official
China Open Launch Event would take place in the 2008 Olympic Capital in
August with details to be released soon. The Event will be of a very
interactive nature and is expected to attract a large number of
participants.
The China Open will be held from September 10-26 at the state-of-the-art
Beijng Tennis Centre. It features the world's best ATP players including
former French Open champions Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya, former US
Open champion Marat Safin, top 10 stars David Nalbandian and Rainer
Schuettler and Asian number one Paradorn Srichaphan. The women's field
includes China's new tennis star Zheng Jie, newly crowned Queen of Wimbledon
and Princess of tennis Maria Sharapova and six-time Grand Slam champion
Serena Williams.
The China Open aims to become one of the world's top five tennis
tournaments, Asia's premier sports event and the leading event in China's
preparations for the 2008 Olympics.
The China Open is organized under the leadership of China's National
Ministry of Sport and the Beijing Municipal Government in co-operation with
the Beijing Youth Daily and the Tom Group. The organizing committee is
headed by Yuan Weimin, Minister of General Administration of Sport of China
and Wang Qishan, Mayor of the Beijing Municipal Government.
For detailed information, please log on China Open's official website
http://www.chinaopen.cn
NEWSFILE: 22 JULY 2004
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