BEIJING – August 8, 2007 – Today, in celebration of the one-year-out mark for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Lenovo, Worldwide Partner for the Olympic Torch Relay and TOP Sponsor of the Olympic Games, announced plans for a global online philanthropic auction. The auction will feature limited-edition notebook computers inspired by the Lenovo-designed 2008 Olympic Torch.
To mark the six month countdown to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, a series of back-to-back, week-long auctions will begin on February 8, 2008, and conclude just prior to the Olympic Games. Each week, a “Cloud of Promise”-themed notebook PC will be available for bidding during a seven-day period. Several of these limited-edition notebook PCs will be autographed by athlete ambassadors – Lenovo Champions – offering fans the chance to bid on the opportunity to own a part of Olympic history.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to take our design for the Cloud of Promise even further,” said Yao Yingjia, director of Lenovo’s Innovation Design Center and leader of the team that designed the torch that will travel the world in the Olympic Torch Relay leading up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. “The cloud motif that makes the torch so distinctive is associated with humanistic, benevolent ideals. In this spirit, and in the Olympic spirit of internationalism and cooperation, it is fitting that these notebooks should be used to raise money for noble causes. Lenovo is gratified to see that our beautiful design is being used for beautiful purposes.”
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the auction of the Olympic Torch-branded notebooks will be distributed through the Lenovo Hope Fund to select philanthropies, including Right to Play. In the spirit of Lenovo’s sponsorship of the Olympic Games, the program will concentrate on microfinance, small- and medium-enterprise development and bringing sports to communities of children. The auction will take place at www.lenovohopefundauctions.com .
Lenovo Names Athlete Champions In addition to autographing Lenovo notebook PCs for the charitable auction, Lenovo Athlete Champions will participate in various activities in their home countries and on-site at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in support of Lenovo’s sponsorship of the Games. The lineup named today includes:
“As a global company, we are excited to be joined by champion athletes from all over the world to honor the spirit of the Olympic Games and mark our participation as a TOP sponsor of the Olympic Games and Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay,” said Alice Li, Vice President, Olympic Marketing. “These first-in-class athletes and their participation in the Lenovo Athlete Champions program are shining examples of the multicultural, collaborative and competitive spirit that we at Lenovo embrace in all we do. We look forward to working with each of them to spread the goodwill that is the essence of the Olympic Games.”
About the Lenovo Olympic Torch Notebook Design For its winning torch design, the Lenovo Innovation Design Center group employed a number of innovative materials and techniques, from precision-machining an aluminum-magnesium alloy into the scroll-shaped curves of the torch body, to using rubberized paint for the first time ever in an Olympic torch to provide the sensation of one hand gripping another. Like the “Cloud of Promise,” on which the design is based, the notebooks are characterized by striking swirls of regal red against a pure silver base color, a contrast representative of the traditional Chinese concern for balance and harmony.
About the Lenovo TOP Sponsorship In addition to its role as the designer of the Beijing 2008 Olympic torch, Lenovo is also the technology hardware supplier for the 2008 Games. Nearly every aspect of the management of the Games, from gathering and storing participant data to displaying the scores to organizing all activities for BOCOG, depends on hardware provided by Lenovo. The company was also the Technology Equipment supplier for the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, where Lenovo hardware supported critical Games systems as well as specially designed Internet lounges for athletes and journalists.
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