Using Mass Events to Promote
Health Literacy: Lessons from
the Beijing Olympics
Hans Troedsson
WHO Representative, China
29 April 2009
Meeting of Technical Support Group
10 February 2009
Outline
• Mass Events and Public Health
• Examples from the Beijing Olympics
– General Health Information
– Tobacco
– Food Safety
Mass Events
• Characteristics
– Large attendance
– Duration
– Security concerns
• Public Health Goal at Mass Events
– Preventing or minimizing the risk of injuries or
ill health for participants, spectators and the
resident population
Why use mass events to
promote health?
• Health is not only the opposite of
being ill
• Large audience with large media
coverage over a few weeks
• “Spirit” of the mass event
• Future Legacy
• Opportunity to have a significant
public health impact beyond the
duration of the mass event
Beijing Health Bureau Olympic Health Handbooks
Tobacco
• Beijing City Regulations
• BOCOG initiatives at venues
• Bans on advertising
• Media and community education
Legacy: Legal framework for increasing
smoke free areas and increased
awareness
Transportation Sector
Poster on dangers of
Second Hand Smoke at
a Beijing bus stop,
August 2008. Public
Service
Announcements were
shown on buses, in
subways, and in
airports. Taxis in Beijing
became smoke-free.
Sports and Culture: “No smoking” messaging
Workers’ Stadium Olympic venue, August, 2008
Telecommunications: Water cube Olympic venue
has local area “Smoke-Free”
SMS text messaging to mobile phones
水立方欢迎您！配戴蓝色袖
标的志愿者就在您身边，如
有需要请向他们咨询。水立
方是无烟场馆，请不要在馆
内吸烟，谢谢您对消防工作
的支持！[好运北京]
Food Safety for Travellers
Physical Activity, Diet & Food Safety
Other health-related
initiatives
100,000 education kit distributed in the Olympic
venues by BOCOG UNAIDS
The training for the volunteers conducted by UN
agencies and national counterparts

The Lesson from Beijing
Mass events can be used to
• Strengthen systems for public health surveillance
and emergency response
• Improve environmental conditions
• Increase in smoke free public places and reduced
tobacco use
• Heighten awareness of health benefits of increasing
physical activity
• Improve food safety and knowledge of nutrition
Thank you
谢谢