Life! - Life Buzz
Ho's Olympic date
Tay Suan Chiang
388 words
13 June 2007
Straits TimesEnglish
(c) 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Singer Ho Yeow Sun has been named sole music ambassador for the Beijing Olympics
HOME-GROWN singer Ho Yeow Sun will be taking part in the Beijing Olympics next year, not as an athlete of course but as 'Olympic music ambassador'.
On Monday night, she was named music ambassador by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad at a ceremony in Beijing Jiaotong University. She said she is the only such music ambassador. Her role involves motivating university students in China to write songs for the Olympics. She will also 'help make their songwriting more presentable so that it will be selected for performance at the Olympics', she told Life! yesterday.
The plan is for her to visit at least 15 universities in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where she will perform and talk to the students about songwriting. 'It is also to let the students have a feel of international music and to encourage them to be more involved in the Olympics,' said Ho, who plans to start the university visits in two months' time.
The costs of her travel and stay will be borne by the committee but she will not be paid for her role as music ambassador. 'Rather, I will be paid with the love from the students,' said the singer, who sings in both Mandarin and English.
Songs to be performed at the Olympics, including the theme song, will be decided 100 days before the opening ceremony on Aug 8, 2008. Apart from students, professional songwriters and singers will also be submitting songs to the committee for consideration. Ho said that she is working with American hip-hop producer Wyclef Jean and songwriter Diane Warren to write a theme song to be considered.
She added that she was surprised when approached by the committee last week to become the Games' music ambassador. 'It was very sudden,' she said. She added that the committee was looking for someone who met their three requirements: an ethnic Chinese, a star with a healthy image and one who has worked in the international music scene.
She is now back in Singapore and will fly to China for a series of concerts in a week's time.
taysc@sph.com.sg
