The week before...

In the mornings, many of the subway riders are wearing some kind of BOCOG (Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) badge; the armies of volunteers are out in force (rather bored it seems but enjoying their free kit from Adidas); the air has cleaned up (some well-timed rain maybe?); 2/3rds of all advertising in the central part of the city is Olympic related (either the City's adverts, or the many Olympic sponsors).

The traffic restrictions are still in force; the newspapers and websites around the world have established their subsites with hundreds of stories published daily; everyone is asking who has or has not got tickets; the athletes have mostly arrived; the country villages for athletes and journalists to hang out in are up and running (my flat mate works in the Italian one); companies are desperately wondering how to get their VIPs into the country because of the tightened visa restrictions (and rumours abound as to the potential to get into some of these special events at the last minute if you know the right people, because they might be half-empty!)

6 days to go...