Service Support Challenge: Guangzhou Passed with Flying Colors
The 15th National Games of the People’s Republic of China, together with the 12th National Paralympic Games and the 9th National Special Olympics, have successfully concluded. As one of the host cities, Guangzhou not only witnessed the athletes’ fierce struggles and glorious moments on the field, but also delivered an outstanding answer that demonstrates the city’s strength and warmth in this comprehensive and high-standard “great test” of service support.
Adhering to the hosting goal of “Simplicity, Safety and Splendor”, Guangzhou carried out efficient and systematic mobilization, successfully uniting forces from all parties to form a synergy ensuring the success of the Games. The city’s refined governance capacity demonstrated in this “great test”, the mobilization capability tempered, the valuable experience accumulated, and the city spirit condensed have become a solid foundation and precious asset for the city’s high-quality development in the future.
Meticulous Efforts Guarantee the Grand Event
Practical Tempering Enhances the City
The success of this grand event lies not only in the athletes’ hard work on the field, but also in the excellent guarantee forged by the city’s efficient operation and united efforts off the field.
As one of the host cities of this National Games, Guangzhou presented a “simple, safe and splendid” sports and cultural event to the world with first-class event guarantee, thoughtful comprehensive services and wonderful cultural experiences, winning praise from audiences across the country and even around the world, and demonstrating the urban charm and event hosting level of Guangzhou in the new era.
Inside the venues, the events were thrilling and exciting; outside the venues, the guarantee work was rigorous and orderly. All staff members supported every highlight moment on the field with professionalism and sweat, and also showed Guangzhou’s organizational capacity, executive power and cohesion in large-scale sports events.
The “gorgeous transformation” staged at the Olympic Sports Center after the opening ceremony is the best example: the support team only took 30 hours to complete the transition from the grand “water stage” to a standard track and field stadium, draining 1,200 cubic meters of water within two hours, dismantling about 1,200 tons of stage equipment within 11 hours, and completing the replacement of the lawn sand layer and lawn laying within 13 hours… Behind these data are thorough plans and scientific scheduling, the round-the-clock efforts of the support team, and a powerful testament to Guangzhou’s support capability for large-scale events.
This systematic support capability runs through all aspects of the Games. In the field of medical and health services, Guangzhou built a tight protection network covering key nodes such as venues, hotels and transportation hubs. 80 designated hospitals, more than 335 medical service points, over 3,200 person-times of medical staff, more than 600 person-times of medical volunteers, and 160 ambulances on “one in use, one on standby” basis stood ready, achieving full coverage and no dead ends in medical support.
In terms of transportation, Guangzhou ensured the smooth flow of the city’s “main traffic lines” and the orderliness of the venues’ “internal traffic lines” by planning 213 “one main, one standby” transportation support routes totaling about 1,300 kilometers, implementing refined organization with a “one venue, one policy” approach, upgrading 1,085 signboards, renovating 194 barrier-free facilities, and putting 1,749 barrier-free buses into operation… These solid and detailed basic work laid the foundation for the smooth operation of the Games.
In addition to the rigorous and orderly hard-core support measures, the professional services, warm smiles and efficient collaboration of volunteers have also become the most shining “business card” that Guangzhou presented to guests from all over the world. The Guangzhou competition zone carefully selected 9,050 Games volunteers. They scattered like stars in various competition venues and key nodes such as the opening and closing ceremonies and the torch relay. Among them, 2,950 volunteers for the opening ceremony completed their service tasks with the standard of “zero mistakes”, becoming a reliable support for the smooth operation of the Games.
Hosting the 15th National Games and the National Para Games & Special Olympics is a concentrated test and comprehensive improvement of Guangzhou’s urban governance capacity and systematic support capability. The solid and reliable basic guarantee, the innovative leadership of scientific and technological strength, and the warm delivery of volunteer services have demonstrated the city’s strong organizational mobilization capacity, resource integration capacity and refined management capacity. The cohesion forged, the rich experience accumulated and the striving spirit built during the hosting of the Games have become precious assets in the process of Guangzhou’s urban development, and will surely be transformed into a strong driving force for forging ahead on a new journey and making contributions in the new era.
Warmth Endures
“Little Dolphins” Become Guangzhou’s “Mobile Business Card”
From midsummer to golden autumn, a warm current of youth has always surged during Guangzhou’s “National Games time”. From the volunteers at the city’s volunteer service stations scattered all over the city, to the youthful figures of volunteers at the opening ceremony, and then to the Games volunteers stationed at arrival and departure points and reception hotels… the “Little Dolphins” have become a beautiful scenery both inside and outside the competition venues.
In this sports event, volunteers in the Guangzhou competition zone have fully integrated into all links of the event operation with professional services, warm smiles and efficient collaboration. The 9,050 volunteers for the 15th National Games covered all competition venues as well as key nodes such as the opening ceremony and the torch relay. Among them, 2,950 volunteers for the opening ceremony completed their service tasks with the standard of “zero mistakes”, becoming a reliable support for the smooth operation of the Games.
At the track and field reception hotel of the Baiyun International Convention Center, facing the scene where more than 1,000 athletes gathered to take buses, the “Little Dolphins” quickly built a guidance system, efficiently evacuated the crowd, and ensured the on-time departure of the vehicles; at the Baiyun Yuexiu Marriott Hotel, for the wheelchair athletes of the floor curling event, volunteers studied wheelchair use skills in advance, escorted them carefully throughout the process, and built a solid service line of defense with steady care.
Inside the venues, the warmth of the “Little Dolphins” permeated every detail: assisting the competition committee in accurately distributing athlete credentials, competition programs, technical guidelines and number bibs to ensure the orderly preparation of the Games; when it came to an athlete’s birthday, they immediately turned into a “warm-hearted group” and sang “Happy Birthday to You”, instantly filling the competitive venue with humanistic care.
Outside the venues, urban volunteer services were in full swing. Relying on 157 urban volunteer service stations, about 18,000 urban volunteer service station volunteers provided services such as event promotion, information consultation and civilized guidance, with a total service duration of more than 110,000 hours, building a dual-line linkage service pattern of “venues + city”. Meanwhile, the “New Color Guangzhou National Volunteer Action” carried out more than 1,000 activities, covering more than 420,000 person-times of citizens, promoting the integration of volunteer services into the urban fabric and creating a strong atmosphere of “everyone participates, serving the National Games”.
From the first smile that guests from all over the world saw when they arrived in Guangzhou to the last warmth before they left, the “Little Dolphins” connected the start and end of the Games with smiles, becoming a “mobile business card” for guests from all parties to know and remember Guangzhou.
Technology Empowers the City
Technological Applications Transform into Tangible and Usable “New Infrastructure”
Undoubtedly, the most exciting moment of the 15th National Games was the lighting of the main torch at the opening ceremony. It adopted the “technological flame” technology combining green electricity and water mist system for the first time, which can present a realistic effect without real flame. To ensure the “green electricity ignition” without any mistakes, China Southern Power Grid, together with the National Energy Storage Innovation Center, delivered the world’s first set of on-line energy storage equipment in only 9 months, replacing the traditional diesel microgrid with “high-reliability mains power + energy storage”. This not only ensured the lighting of the main torch, but also reduced carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 100 tons.
Today, although the 15th National Games have concluded, Guangzhou has already left green and intelligent “permanent assets” for the city through this event.
Through the large-scale application of photovoltaic technology, energy-saving and environmental protection materials and steel structure performance improvement technology, the Tianhe Sports Center has achieved a 57% carbon reduction. In the future, it will save about 1.09 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, equivalent to saving about 330 tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 811 tons.
After renovation, the energy-saving rate of the building itself of the climbing venue at the University Town Sports Center reached 53%, and the carbon reduction rate reached 46%.
After adopting the intelligent lighting system, the Guangzhou Yuexiu Mountain Stadium reduced the lighting energy consumption during the Games by about 60%.
The municipal stadium smart operation and management cloud platform has been connected to the opening ceremony venues and main competition venues such as the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center, Tianhe Sports Center, Guangzhou Gymnasium, University Town Sports Center, Yuexiu Mountain Stadium and Shooting Range Training Center. Based on digital twin technology, it has realized centralized monitoring, centralized management and intelligent equipment regulation, helping each venue save more than 20% of energy. After the Games, it will build a “digital base” for the sports industry.
The new technological applications have passed the “great test” during the National Games, and have become tangible and usable “new infrastructure” for citizens after the Games. In the future, every competition and activity held in the venues will make citizens feel the full vitality brought by green and low-carbon development.
Case Story
“Guardians of the Water Veins” Behind the Grand Event
When the countdown numbers “3, 2, 1” flickered on the large screen at the opening ceremony of the 15th National Games, groups of data on the smart large screen of the Water Supply and Drainage Support Command Center of Guangzhou Water Investment Group were also jumping. The staff stared intently at the data changes on the screen with meticulous attention. As the “smart core” of the water supply system, the “Smart Water Supply Cloud” platform monitored core indicators such as water quality turbidity, instantaneous flow and pipe network pressure of the venues and surrounding areas in real time.
According to the relevant person in charge of Guangzhou Water Investment Group, the support plan covers all links such as water supply dispatching, water quality monitoring, pipe network operation and maintenance, drainage and waterlogging prevention, and emergency response. Solutions have also been preset for various emergency scenarios such as pipe bursts and rainstorm waterlogging, striving to build a solid water safety line for the grand event.
“At the opening ceremony, tens of thousands of audience members entered the venue. Stable water supply was needed for on-site performances, toilets, showers and other facilities. The water consumption in the Olympic Sports Center and surrounding areas may reach 2—3 times the daily amount. On the water supply side, we have built a full-process support system of ‘source control—pressurized transmission—pipe network operation and maintenance—terminal service’.” The relevant person in charge of Guangzhou Water Supply Company of Guangzhou Water Investment Group said that by strengthening the raw water pretreatment process and increasing the frequency of full-index water quality testing, the compliance of water output from the source was ensured.
Water not only needs to be supplied well, but also needs to be drained smoothly. On the drainage side, Guangzhou Drainage Company of Guangzhou Water Investment Group continued to increase the inspection and maintenance efforts of the drainage pipe network around the Olympic Sports Center with the frequency of daily inspections and 24-hour uninterrupted manhole inspections. It also conducted 2 rounds of ground-penetrating radar testing and 1 round of pipe network endoscopic testing, with a total inspection of more than 440 kilometers, dredging of nearly 110 kilometers, and rectification of more than 290 problematic manhole covers, ensuring that the underground “capillaries” are always unobstructed.
As the “guardians of the city’s water veins”, more than 2,500 “water investment personnel” and 350 vehicles and equipment of Guangzhou Water Investment Group were on duty 24 hours a day. With scientific overall planning, precise command and efficient dispatching, they delivered a water service guarantee answer of “zero omissions, zero delays, zero complaints”, supporting the splendor of the “city” with the stability of “water”.