Design gets its time at Beijing Olympics

The Beijing Olympics opening ceremony takes place this Friday, produced by live events group Jack Morton Worldwide and designed by artistic director of the Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Zhang Yimou.

During the games, a raft of high-profile designs will be revealed as brands and sponsors try to engage the record number of viewers around the world watching the games.

Red Bee Media has created idents for TV coverage by the BBC and Chinese state broad – caster CCTV. Illustrator Jamie Hewlett has created cartoon characters for Radio Times magazine referen cing the folk tale that inspired the Monkey Magic TV series.

Samsung will unveil its Imagination-designed pavilion, created in partnership with Cheil Communications World -wide and the Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University.

Meanwhile, Olympic sponsors Adidas and Nike have seized the opportunity to open flagship stores in Beijing. Start Creative and Judge Gill worked together to design the 3000m2 Adidas store, which features interactive elements measuring customers’ skill levels and tailoring appropriate training regimes.

Pre-empting the official start of the build-up to the London Olympics, Visit London has launched an online press cen tre, designed by Cimex Media.

At the closing ceremony in Beijing on 24 August, the Olympic flag will be handed over to London. This will herald the start of a branding and marketing push by the London 2012 games’ six biggest sponsors, as well as the search for second- and third-tier sponsors.