Lenovo-Designed Olympic Torch for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Unveiled by Beijing Organizing Committee

Today the
Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) in the
presence of the International Olympic Committee, unveiled the Lenovo-designed
Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch and announced Lenovo’s role as a Worldwide Partner
of the Olympic Torch Relay. Lenovo’s design, the “Cloud of Promise,” was chosen
over 300 competitor themes and will be carried by torchbearers around the world
in the Olympic Torch Relay preceding the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Since its
inception in 1936, the Olympic torch has come to represent the history and
culture of its host country and city. Lenovo’s unique approach for the Beijing
2008 Olympic Torch incorporates a sleek and modern design with historical
Chinese symbolism. The primary theme of the torch’s artwork is clouds, which
are intimately associated with Chinese culture, and are often represented in
works of Chinese architecture, drawing and painting, furniture and
story-telling.

“As a
global company with roots in

China
and a TOP (worldwide) Sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, it is an honor
to have our torch design chosen for the Olympic Torch Relay,” said Yang
Yuanqing, chairman of Lenovo. “Lenovo’s spirit, similar to that of the Olympic
Games themselves, is multicultural, collaborative and competitive. As a TOP
Sponsor of the Olympic Games and Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay,
Lenovo has a deep understanding of the significance of the torch to the Olympic
movement. The Lenovo design team brought great passion and strong professional
capability and experience to create the ‘Cloud of Promise’ themed torch, which
marries modern technology and Olympic spirit with the Chinese traditional
culture. We are proud for people to carry this torch around the world.”

Design of
the Torch

The torch,
fashioned from a polished aluminum-magnesium alloy, measures 720 millimeters x
50 mm x 40 mm (28.35 inches x 1.97 in x 1.56 in) and is exceptionally
lightweight at about 1,000 grams (2.21 pounds).

Additional
features of the torch design include:

Primary
coloring of deep red and bright silver, a fusion of traditional Chinese art and
contemporary design, blending symbols of Chinese culture, philosophy and art;

A handle
designed not only for comfort, but to emulate the unique sensation of one hand
holding another thanks to a coating of rubber-based paint; and

An
embossed pattern of clouds, which represent the ever-developing Chinese
culture.

Lenovo’s
award-winning design team spent more than 10 months on the design of the torch.
Altogether, more than 30 Lenovo design specialists were involved in the torch
project including the core team of 10. The team was truly multinational,
including designers from
Germany,

Singapore, US,
Japan,
New Zealand,

Italy and

China. The experience and
specialties of the designers were equally diverse, and included majors in
graphic design, chemistry, engineering, materials, anthropology, art and
history. For months the teams engaged in intensive brainstorming, including
game playing and creativity exercises, to help them look at the torch design
from many different perspectives.

“Inspired
by the shape of a traditional Chinese scroll, the imagery of the ‘Cloud of
Promise’ represents the traditions of China, while the shape, texture and
technology evoke the Olympic spirit,” said Yao Yingjia, Executive Director,
Lenovo Innovation Design Center in Beijing. “We approached the design of the
torch with the same process we use in designing our personal computers. First
we explore the connection between the user and the solution we create for them,
looking at factors like size, weight, features, etc. Then we encourage the
Lenovo design team to take a fresh approach to make the product unique and
friendly to the customer. This is what we did with the torch, realizing it must
be attractive to those who see it, and comfortable and light for those who
carry it. In the case of the torch, our ‘customer’ is both the torchbearer and
the spectator.”

The
official torch lighting will take place in

Olympia,
Greece,
in March 2008. The torch will travel to 20 countries around the world including
the
UK,
France,
USA,

Australia,
India and
Japan,
and then make its way through
Taiwan,
Hong Kong and Macau before visiting 113 cities in
China
to arrive at its final destination in

Beijing
on August 8, 2008 to mark the start of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.