Contributor Jennifer Conrad continues her tour of National Houses in Beijing:
A friend with IOC connections put me on the guest list for the London House, but when I arrived the person manning the door said he didn't have the list, and I needed to call someone inside to bring me to the check-in desk. My friends were on their way in a taxi, so I waited outside. Then we had to find someone to let us in, in order to be checked off the guest list. (How did the first party guest get in? I don't know!) This process continued throughout the night as other friends arrived; someone joked that the security was tighter than at the Olympic venues. But after flashing our passports, going through a metal detector, getting wanded, and having our bags x-rayed, we found a beautiful outdoor space with an open bar, barbecue, and Chinese dishes.
I asked someone how this was supposed to promote the London Olympics, if no one was allowed in. He responded that the event was really for networking and feeling important. No wonder the scene was so sedate. At 12:30, the lights were abruptly turned on full blast, then turned off again, leaving everyone in total darkness. Apparently, it was the organizers way of saying it was time to go.
Nearby was the Russian Bosco Club, on the banks of Houhai, a manmade lake that's lined with neon-lit bars. The crowd was overflowing and a rollicking band played inside. But you need a Russian passport to get in, and I remembered what I read on a local website, "I would NOT recommend challenging the guards they have stationed at the door." Taking one look at the heavy security presence including Russian and Chinese guards, I didn't try. I heard inside there's a "vodka luge," a track made of ice with vodka flowing down through the channel.
Of all the houses, the House of Switzerland is the only one that seems really inviting to the public. In a large warehouse in the 798 art district, the house has booths with chocolate-making demonstrations, a ski lift for posing for photos, and a fancy Swiss restaurant. Since 1998, the Swiss House has always been open to the public, and the Swiss Olympic Association partners with Presence Switzerland, a government-funded group that promotes Swiss culture abroad and manages the house. "We want the local and international visitors to be able to experience the whole diversity of what Switzerland has to offer," says Kieu Duy Tran, Presence Switzerland's deputy head of team marketing and communication for major international events. During my afternoon visit the sizable, mostly Chinese crowd moved from booth to booth snapping photos against Swiss backdrops and watching performers.
Although the Swiss House has a VIP section—and lots of athletes stop by to party all night—the scene felt much less exclusive than at the other houses. Such openness creates more interaction between locals and international visitors, Tran thought. One frequent visitor came practically every day and told Tran that the Swiss House was by far the best because it was the most lively.
USA House is one of the most difficult to enter, but one person who'd visited told me it's by far the nicest and has the best food. People who can visit include athletes (though their friends and family have to fight over day passes), sponsors, IOC Members, Chicago 2016 candidate city guests, and a few other lucky ones. "The USA House is a business and hospitality center," explained Jerri Foehrkolb, USOC managing director of meeting and event services, in an e-mail. "We are one of a few National Organizing Committees that are funded through public donations and private sponsorships, not by government funding, and as a non-profit organization, the USOC uses the USA House as a thank-you to the people that have supported the team as well as a place for conducting business."
The South Africa Ekhaya (Zulu for "home") hospitality center advertised a Saturday-night party. When a friend and I entered the Westin ballroom (no passport checks to get into this one), we found a big screen showing sports on TV, an open bar, and a buffet of hamburgers. So, we settled in and waited for the party to start. After a little while, I noticed my friend was talking to someone at the bar. It turns out he was the DJ, flown in from South Africa for the party, but he decided not to hit the decks because there weren't enough people around. By 10:00, the crowd was down to a dozen or so people and the bar had closed.
Realizing the party wasn't happening, we left for Sanlitun, a rowdy Beijing bar strip that has been somewhat "harmonized", or tamed, by pre-Games security precautions and high-profile drug busts. Still, people can still have a good time. We ran into the same DJ again, as well as a crowd of Brazilians playing drums and singing well past 1 in the morning. The best parties, it seems, are the ones that happen without official organizers.
