The 2008 Olympics HIV and AIDS Campaign "Play safe – Help stop HIV" was launched on the 1^st of August 2008 in Beijing by the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Dr. Jacques Rogge, the UNAIDS Country Coordinator, Dr. Bernhard Schwartländer as well as members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission lead by Egyptian Swimmer, Dr. Rania Elwani.

During an official visit of the Olympic Village the dignitaries went to the village polyclinic where 100,000 high quality condoms are available for distribution along with posters and leaflets on HIV prevention and anti-discrimination in English, French and Chinese. In addition, two different AIDS videos in the three languages with UNAIDS Special Representative and German footballer Michael Ballack and Chinese Basketball star Yao Ming are shown on the monitor in the waiting room at the clinic.

“Especially famous athletes can play an important role to bring across messages about HIV prevention, care and support as they are regarded as role models by young people" said IOC President Rogge during the campaign's kick-off.

Fact sheets on AIDS as well as the two AIDS videos of the campaign are included in flash sticks that IOC distributes to all athletes. The campaign is endorsed by Olympians Rania Elwani and Yao Ming and implemented in the Olympic clinics in Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong. The campaign does not only aim to benefit the many athletes, the members of the national delegations and the more than 100,000 volunteers supporting the Games. Through the universal language of the Olympics and its participants from every corner of the world, it seeks to amplify its key HIV and AIDS messages globally and locally.

"Olympic athletes are helping break down barriers of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV," said Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director. "They are also well placed to carry the messages across countries and cultures to inspire people to adopt behaviours that protect them against HIV," he added.

The 100,000 condoms were donated by the China Reproductive Health Industry Association and produced in China following WHO and UNFPA quality requirements. UNAIDS partnered with China Contraception Supply Centre to perform quality checks certifying that the condoms live up to international standards.

UNAIDS has been supporting the mainstreaming of messages on HIV prevention and anti-discrimination in the Beijing Olympics since September 2006, when Dr. Peter Piot addressed a group of migrant workers during an AIDS awareness activity at a construction site in Beijing. Many other activities have taken place including a tree planting initiative with people living with HIV, the training of around 6,000 Olympic volunteers, the distribution of AIDS information leaflets to 40,000 volunteers, the involvement of a person living with HIV in the Olympic torch run (in Tanzania) and the provision of technical information on HIV prevention in clinical environments to BOCOG to support the training of health services staff.