It's Yeoh Siew Hoon's second day in Beijing and already she's losing track of all the important people in town -

Besides, she only has eyes for one man.

Photo courtesy of The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games' official website

There are so many important people in town that I feel for my hotelier friends.

All of them are running around like Peking ducks with their necks cut off to welcome every VIP arriving and staying at their hotel.

"Excuse me, got to welcome the chairman (of corporate sponsor)."

"Got to run. (Head of state) arriving."

"Sorry, my chairman's calling – wants extra seats for dinner."

"Apologies, my owner's wife just called – wants facial."

Then of course there's the Olympic officials – a cast of thousands, the media as well as guests, unaffiliated and independent, who are paying out of their own pocket for the experience of a lifetime.

And oh yes, let's not forget the athletes, the stars of the Games.

Thing is, it's hard to figure out who is more important than whom in the hierarchy of things but I guess that's what general managers are paid to do – to make everyone feel they are the most important.

Anyway, today, every important person on the planet is arriving in Beijing. US President George Bush and Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expected in town.

The one person who will not be attending is Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe who was reportedly told to go home after he had arrived in Hong Kong enroute to the Games. According to reports, the Chinese government bowed to intense political pressure and convinced Mugabe not to attend.

So that's one less important person in Beijing today.

I suspect some people may also have been asked to leave town – for example, the South Korean television crew from SBS, which leaked a video of the opening ceremony rehearsal, after signing a confidentiality agreement. (The video is no longer available at www.liveleak.com )

It's really too bad – three years of work and planning – and all it takes is one act to spoil the party. So now the secret's out – we have been told to expect "a dramatic countdown, giant whales, an illuminated globe and performers flying through the air like Peter Pan", according to one report.

A Beijing Olympics official called it "disappointing" and a spokesman would not say whether SBS would be punished, only that officials were "checking into the situation."

I refuse however to let this dampen my anticipation. This morning, I bumped into Roger Federer getting into the lift as I was coming out. He was texting while I was texting, and we bumped heads.

Now that's the best way to start any day, let alone, the day before the Games begin which, by the way, also happens to be Federer's birthday.

Yeoh Siew Hoon, one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, writes a regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry for 4Hoteliers.com.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her other writings can be found at www.thetransitcafe.com

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