Wednesday the 10th April saw Nanjing tick off one more box on its list of things to do on the road to the Youth Olympics next year. The milestone event entitled “English is Great” aims to raise awareness of the Games themselves and promote the study of English among the general public.
Supported by the British Consulate in Shanghai, from which in attendance were the Consul Mr. Brian Davidson along with the vice-Consul and his wife, the “English is Great ” show included dance routines put on by local YOG volunteers while “Flawless”, a visiting British dance troupe, summersaulted their way across the stage to the delight of the audience. A fleet of London taxis were also brought in (all the way from Shanghai) painted in British red, white and blue with another in the colours of next year’s Youth Olympic Games.
Also on hand were representatives from various departments of Nanjing with a close interest in the Games, including the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee, Public Security Bureau, transport authority, tourism industry, community residents and students.
They were presented with a new brochure, hundreds of thousands of copies of which have been printed, that encourages the learning of simple English expressions that residents may find useful when encountering a visitor to the city. If you soon hear Nanjing local people chanting phrases such as “Please keep the change – thank you – have a nice day” you’ll know where they got it.
