Australian Centre for Olympic Studies
The Australian Centre for Olympic Studies (ACOS) was launched in 2005 and aims to provide a national focus for Olympic studies in Australia. The centre's main activities are research, publishing, teaching and documentation. The book The Bitter-Sweet Awakening: the Legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games is particularly relevant to the Beijing 2008 teaching units.
Australian Geography Teachers Association
The Australian equivalent of the GA - providing support to geography educators.
Australian Olympic Team Official Website
Information about the Australian Olympic Team, plus athlete chat and online trivia.
BBC - 'How the Olympics changed my Beijing'
How the Olympics has changed the city for one Beijing-based blogger.
BBC - 'Local heroes: Mapping GB's gold medallists'
The home towns of Team GB's gold medallists.
BBC History - The Olympics: Ancient versus Modern
A comprehensive article by Dr Stephen Instone.
BBC Olympics 2008
Information about every sport including schedules and 'how to' guides.
Beijing 2008 Official Website
Includes news, photos, in-depth information on each of the Olympic sports, venue details and sections on Olympic Spirit, Olympic Education and Olympic Culture.
Beijing 2008 Official Website - Mascots
This page gives information about the Beijing Olympic mascots - five characters, or Fuwa, to represent the five Olympic rings. Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals - the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow - and the Olympic Flame. Kate Russell
Beijing Paralympic Games 2008 Official Website
Similar content to the official Olympic website, but focusing on Paralympic sports and culture.
British Museum - Year of the Dragon
Children aged 8-12 from the QingHua Wembley Chinese School wrote this tour to commemorate the Chinese Year of the Dragon. There are ten dragons in the tour from around the world, as well as six stories. Find out about the ancient snake-dragon from Babylon, read some Chinese dragon stories and discover the gruesome fate of St Margaret. Kate Russell
British Paralympic Association
All about the Paralympic sports and the British team.
CBBC Newsround - Training for the 2008 Olympics
Read this story about Liu Meng, a member of the Chinese Gymnastics Team, and how she trains for Olympic competition. Kate Russell
Chiff.com - Olympic Games 2008
Some interesting short video clips on aspects of the Olympics, including controversy over the deaths of some workers building the Olympic Stadia. Kate Russell
Dimsum
For teachers, the website of the British Chinese community Kate Russell
Guardian - Beijing 2008
A collection of up to date news articles in the run up to the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. The article 'Media faceweb censorship at Beijing Games' will be of interest (30.07.08)
International Paralympic Committee
Everything you need to know about the Paralympic Games including sections on sports science, education, development and classification, plus internet TV.
London 2012
The official website for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games includes information on sports and venues, plans, and how you can get involved.
Olympic Movement Official Website
Information about the Movement, sports, news, education and a virtual tour of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Also features a searchable database of medal winners since 1896.
Olympic Studies Centre
The Olympic Studies Centre at the Autònoma University in Barcelona includes a huge database of articles, suitable for use by older students.
Olympic Torch Relay Official Website
Follow the route of the Olympic torch, learn about torch relay traditions and watch the Beijing Olympic torch video - it has a great soundtrack, a really interesting mixture of traditional and modern music. Kate Russell
Perseus Digital Library Project - The Ancient Olympics
In this exhibit created in 1996, you can compare ancient and modern Olympic sports, tour the site of Olympia as it looks today, learn about the context of the Games and the Olympic spirit, and read about the Olympic athletes who were famous in ancient times.
Resource Guide to the Olympic Games
This free guide, produced by the Higher Education Academy Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Network, focuses on the social, historical and cultural aspects of the games and lists books, articles and online resources. It takes the form of an annotated bibliography divided into themes including the ancient and modern games, the Paralympics, the staging and bidding processes, politics, the IOC and the media.
Sydney Morning Herald - Beijing 2008
Articles, blogs and photos, mainly related to the Australian Team, but plently of general info material as well. Articles of particular interest include 'Choker rule: Aussies can pull out of Games' and 'Beijing Car Ban Plan'.
Sydney Morning Herald - 'Bye-bye Beijing'
Looking back at the Beijing Games. (25.08.08)
Sydney Morning Herald - 'Evans backs Team Tibet’s 2012 push'
Invitation for London 2012 to 'Team Tibet'. (25.08.08)
Sydney Morning Herald - 'Fairer sex doing more than their fair share'
Australian article on gender and sport, looking at the women's share of the Australian 2008 Beijing medals. (25.08.08)
Sydney Morning Herald - 'Games over, but new start for China'
The impacts of Beijing's Games - China as a global business. (25.08.08)
Team GB Official Website for Beijing 2008
Comprehensive information about the British team including athlete diaries, galleries and schedules.
The Age (Melbourne) - 'Gold, but at what cost?'
Taxpayers fork out at least AU$16.7 million for each Olympic gold. This article questions whether Olympics success is worth the money spent.
'Voices of Dissent' - ABC TV Australia
'When China pitched for the Olympics, it promised to promote human rights, but so far, as reporter Liz Jackson discovers on a journey to China, that promise remains unfulfilled...'. Watch this Australian documentary online and read key documents related to the report.
Wikipedia - Ancient Olympic Games
Historical information about the Ancient Olympic Games held in Greece
Wikipedia - Olympic Games
Information about the Olympic Games including history, problems, sports, cermonies, symbols and medallists.
Wikipedia - Paralympic Games
Information about the history of the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games and an explanation of disability categories.
