Countdown to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games July 13, 2001: Beijing won out over rival cities by receiving 56 winning votes in the second round of secret voting, securing its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games at the 112th voting of the International Olympic Committee in Moscow. December 13, 2001: The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) was established. February 4, 2002: The State Council put forth Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols, which went into effect on April 1, 2002. July 13, 2002: The Beijing Olympic Action Plan formulated jointly by the Beijing Municipal Government and the BOCOG was promulgated, promoting the idea of a "New Beijing, Great Olympics," and the concepts of "Green Olympics, Hi-tech Olympics and People's Olympics." April 15, 2003: The BOCOG launched the first round of campaigns to solicit possible themes for the 2008 Olympic Games. The organizing committee planed to select 10 songs each year from 2003 to 2007 and make a final decision from the list of 50. June 11, 2003: The BOCOG Sailing Committee (Qingdao) was set up in Qingdao, Shandong Province. August 3, 2003: The Emblem of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, entitled "Chinese Seal-Dancing Beijing," was publicized at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. August 31, 2003: A framework agreement for the establishment of the Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co. Ltd. was signed, launching the TV broadcasting work for the Games. September 1, 2003: The Beijing 2008 Marketing Plan was officially launched. December 24, 2003: Construction on the National Stadium commenced. March 26, 2004: The Lenovo Group became the first Chinese company to join the Olympic Partner Program. July 13, 2004: Entitled "Sky, Earth and Human Being," the emblem of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games was unveiled. August 29, 2004: The Olympic flag was handed to the Mayor of Beijing, Wang Qishan, at the closing ceremony of Athens Olympic Games. September 21, 2004: A giant countdown clock for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was unveiled in Tiananmen Square. November 1, 2004: The Main Press Center, the headquarters of BOCOG's press operations, was officially opened. May 31, 2005: Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co. Ltd., host broadcaster of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, began official operations. June 5, 2005: The Beijing Olympic Volunteer Program was launched and the volunteer symbol for the Games was unveiled. Around 70,000 volunteers will be needed for the Beijing Olympics and 30,000 for the Paralympics. June 26, 2005: "One World, One Dream," the theme for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, was announced. July 8, 2005: The International Olympic Committee announced that the equestrian events will be held in Hong Kong. October 5, 2005: The BOCOG Equestrian Committee (Hong Kong) was formally established. November 11, 2005: The official mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games were unveiled to mark the 1,000-day countdown to the opening of the Games. The mascots, consisting of five figures, are officially named Fuwa. April 16, 2006: The creation team for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was announced, and Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou was selected as head of the team. August 7, 2006: The BOCOG released the pictograms of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. August 28, 2006: Recruitment for volunteers for the Beijing Olympic Games was officially launched. September 7, 2006: Fu Niu Lele, the official mascot of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games was revealed. October 26, 2006: The International Olympic Committee agreed on the competition schedule for the Beijing Olympic Games. November 29, 2006: BOCOG announces ticket prices for 2008 Olympics Games 618 days away from the opening ceremony. December 1, 2006: The BOCOG releases press rules for the Beijing Olympics, promising unprecedented press freedom for foreign journalists in the run up to the Games. January 19, 2007: Beijing Olympics IT Integration Test Lab was launched. January 21, 2007: Beijing Olympic organizers kicked off the fourth round of a campaign to solicit a theme song for the 2008 Games. The deadline to submit songs is March 10, 2008. The theme song will be picked from all the entries of the four rounds and will be unveiled 100 days before the opening ceremony of the Games. July 2, 2007: The International Olympic Committee announces that the Beijing Municipal Government will implement a plan to reduce air pollution and test the contingency measures that would be used in special cases in the capital city in August. By then, the government will limit the number of official cars on road and advocate that people refrain from driving in certain areas to ensure a million cars removed from circulation.