EF's Olympic spirit

The Olympic torch reached the summit of Mount Everest yesterday, but that was only a supplementary torch. The official Olympic torch was in the hands of EF Education First Founder Bertil Hult.

The 67-year-old patriarch of the EF family carried the Olympic torch 200 meters yesterday through Guangzhou, China. He was one of several torchbearers who covered 40 kilometers on the torch relay yesterday.

More than a million spectators —including a couple of hundred EF teachers and 350 EF employees from South China—cheered Hult and the other runners as they paraded the torch through Guangzhou.

Life of Guangzhou, the leading English news source in the city, wrote about Hult yesterday in a feature titled, "Swede Lessons in Life: Never Give Up."

"I love sports and I love the Olympics," Hult said just a few hours before he ran with the torch.

EF has long been a key supporter of the Olympics. Twenty years ago, EF was the Official Language School of the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, providing language training to Olympic volunteers. This Olympiad, EF Education First is the Official Language Training Services Supplier of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

"EF has the same mission as the Olympic Games—to communicate, get to know and understand each other and different cultures," Hult told the Swedish paper Dagens Industri, which featured Hult's torch run in today's edition (see left).

EF has been assisting the Beijing Olympic Committee of the Games (BOCOG) to train thousands of local judges, translators, interpreters and BOCOG staff using EF's advanced language training system.

Yuan Bin, director of BOCOG's marketing department, praised EF upon the announcement last year of EF's involvement in the 2008 Games.

"The Olympic Games is not only a grand sporting event but also a platform for global cultural exchange," she said. "The important success from the EF professional training team will contribute to the successful staging of the this world-focused event, where we shall welcome guests from all over the globe to share the great experience of the Olympic Games in Beijing."

Bill Fisher, CEO of EF English First in China, also pointed out how EF's mission matches the Olympic spirit.

"EF is very honored and proud to support the Beijing Olympic Games," Fisher said. "The Olympics are a chance for China to talk to the world—and English is the tool. EF was founded with the mission of tearing down the geographic, language and cultural barriers that separate people, and this mission fits well with the Olympic cause. It's a natural extension of our brand and what we represent to become associated with the Beijing Olympics."

EF has an enormous presence in China with more than a hundred schools in 54 cities around the country. More than a million people in China are studying English online through EF. One estimate predicts that 300 million Chinese will learn English in the near future.

Comments

[justin]

wow - that is fantastic! I know that EF is very proud to be the Official Language Training Services Supplier of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games!

[Eric from EF]

Indeed, everyone at EF is very proud of Bertil and our connection to the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Thanks for the comment.