Olympic condoms (and some torches) offered to highest bidders

(AFP PHOTO/Nathalie ALONSO)

There was apparently not quite as much fun and games being played as expected by organizers at last year's Beijing Olympics with news breaking that a stash of 5,000 leftover "Olympic condoms'' will be placed up for auction.

One man went around the games collecting everything he could lay his hands on and has now decided to put the lot up for auction -- at the China International Exhibition Centre on November 29 (details in Chinese can be found on http://www.ticang.com). And that includes what remains of the 100,000 condoms distributed throughout the Athletes Village last year.

And a representative of the Sport Collection of China Collector Association -- which is hosting the auction -- told Chinese media Thursday the opening price for the condoms would be one yuan (0.09 euros) and that the buyer must agree to purchase the entire batch. No mention was made, however, of what size the condoms were or even which particular group of athletes failed to make use of their allotted quota.

"The auction of condoms is the first time in the country,'' Guo Lei told the China Daily newspaper. "The move is to grab the attention of the public to promote the awareness of safe sex and the prevention of HIV/Aids.''

Zhao Xiaokai, who has made a living from collecting Olympic-themed items, has also put an autographed Olympic torch, signed by Brazilian footballing legend Pele, and a medicine case from the 1936 Berlin Olympics up for sale.

Olympic memorabilia has been in the global news this week with reports coming out of Canada that torches being used in the Winter Olympics relay are being put up for sale -- four months before the Vancouver Games are even set to begin.

According to the Globe and Mail newspaper one dealer in Greece -- where the flame was carried for eight days before heading off on a flight to Canada -- has offered a torch on the internet sales/auction site eBay for US$2,000 (€1,343) and others are posting notes on similar websites offering their torches "to the highest bidder'' before they have even been carried.

There are an estimated 12,000 torch-bearers lined up to run legs of the Olympic torch's 45,000-kilometer journey across Canada before the Winter Olympics open on February 12, 2010.

MS