CHINESE STUDENTS:CHINESE STUDENTS from the University of Ulster gathered at its Jordanstown campus yesterday to celebrate the opening of the Olympic Games.
More than 100 first-year students from all over China met at the university's new multimillion pound sports facility to watch the opening ceremony in Beijing.
Before watching the ceremony on a specially erected giant screen, students were treated to a traditional Chinese lion dance performed by a Belfast community group.
The university's new £13 million (€16.5 million) High Performance Centre, which receives its official opening later this year, has already been earmarked as an official training centre for the 2012 games in London.
Welcoming the students to the campus, provost Prof Alan Sharp said: "I am delighted to have an opportunity to welcome such a large number of new international students just as the Beijing Olympic Games begin.
"The presence of so many new Chinese students here today demonstrates the strong bonds that have grown between the University of Ulster and China."
Representing the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and the London 2012 Nations and Regions Group, Mick Cory said: "The next few weeks see key milestones for Northern Ireland with the eyes of the world shortly turning from Beijing to London and the United Kingdom at the Olympic handover on August 24th, 2008."
He added that Northern Ireland would have a "unique opportunity" to showcase its sporting venues during the London games.
The festivities coincided with the announcement yesterday that the University of Ulster would play a pivotal role in organising a special sports science conference in the run-up to the London Olympics.
A five-university consortium, headed by Brunel University in London, has been given the task of organising the 2012 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport.