IOC Marketing Report – Beijing 200897 SponsorshipChapter Four Air China Air China was the passenger air transport sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The company raised awareness of the Games through on- board announcements, promotional campaigns and marketing activations at airports throughout the country. Air China also repainted a number of its aircraft with the Beijing 2008 mascots and other Olympic imagery. From an operational perspective, Air China provided the aircraft that carried the Olympic flame to all five continents as part of the Beijing 2008 international Torch Relay and ensured smooth transport links for athletes, officials, journalists and other members of the Olympic Family between Beijing and the six co- host cities. Bank of China Working with TOP sponsor Visa, the Bank of China issued a number of Olympic- related products, including the BOC Visa Credit Card, which featured the Games emblem and was available in the five different colours of the Olympic rings. The two parties also cooperated in optimising payment facilities at Olympic venues, building a convenient and secure payment platform for Beijing 2008. China Mobile China Mobile provided mobile communications networks and services to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. During the Opening Ceremony alone, the number of mobile subscribers who used their cell- phones in or around the stadium was 250,000 – nearly double the number of users during the Athens 2004 Opening Ceremony, and the peak number of calls made using China Mobile's network in the Bird's Nest Stadium and the Olympic central area reached over 110,000 each hour.