Auction of Beijing Olympics items nets $17.5 mln

BEIJING. March 19. KAZINFORM An auction of drums and bamboo scrolls used at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony has netted a total of $17.5 million, the China Daily said on Thursday.

The four-hour auction at the China Beijing Equity Exchange (CBEX), featured traditional Chinese "fou" drums and one-meter bamboo scrolls and was attended by over 130 Chinese millionaires. The 29th Summer Olympic Games were held in Beijing from August 8 to August 24. Shortly after the games were over, the organizers announced that auctions to sell Olympic items would continue for the next two years. The auctions will boost profits from the games, already estimated at over $16 million. Apart from drums and scrolls, over 500,000 Olympic-related items, including the king-size bed used by Chinese basketball player Yao Ming, have already been sold in nine auctions, bringing in a total of 30 million yuan ($4.4 million), Kazinform cites RIA novosti.