Olympic parties you dream of getting into and how you can

The Olympics are about many things: athleticism, humanity and, most importantly, partying hard for sixteen days straight. And while for many that may mean setting up camp at Paddy O’Shea’s, there are swankier options out there for the well-connected or highly adventurous.

The hottest ticket in town may be Club Bud, which has transformed part of the National Agricultural Center into a multi-level club complete with a 360o TV screen, lounge area and pool. With MTV Parties and rock star guest lists, Bud is the place for drunken revelry. Themed parties are held every other night, culminating in the Gold Medal Celebration party on August 23. This ultra-exclusive bash will be the biggest of the season, and the only way for you plebeian drinkers to get in on the fun is to log on to the City Weekend website and enter our contest giveaway (see p. 46).

Also stationed at the National Agricultural Center is the Heineken Holland Huis. Since stories emerged from the last Summer Games of crowd-surfing Olympians and appearances by the likes of DJ Ti?sto, who (hush-hush) will return this year, the Holland House has achieved mythical status among partygoers. Though the House will be open to the public during the day, the night time is said to be restricted to Dutch nationals. Your best chance to sneak into this partij is to hide yourself among the tallest people you can find, deck yourself out head-to-toe in orange and practice chanting “Hup Holland Hup!”

Brasil House is the other big name on the hospitality house scene this year. As the birthplace of Carnaval, capoeira and Gisele Bündchen, Brazil embodies the essence of free-spirited partying. Fittingly for the home of samba, you’ll need some fancy footwork in order to make it into this house, so start dusting up on your Portuguese, read up on the history of football (repeat after me: “Mané Garrincha is my hero! Pelé is God!”) and for goodness sake, get a tan and wax!

Converse will also hit the party circuit with its LoveNoise concert tour featuring two of China’s best underground bands, PK14 and Queen Sea Big Shark. For two weeks, they’ll rock their way through Nanjing, Hangzhou, Changsha, Wuhan and Xi’an on a custom-made tour bus before finally arriving in Beijing on Aug. 16.

But if orange doesn’t suit your complexion and you’re not into groveling, don’t despair: with the Olympics underway, all Beijing is now a party town. Find out where all the national houses and corporate pavilions are at www.cityweekend.com.cn/olympicsguide. See you there.

Miranda Lin