All fun and Games in fine old Olympic art of massaging the body corporate

KEVIN Rudd will be there. So will Telstra boss Sol Trujillo. The AFL's Andrew Demetriou too.

Australia's top companies will splash millions of dollars on tickets and accommodation at the Olympic Games as powerbrokers and networkers rush to rub shoulders in the Chinese capital.

Can the last important person in Australia please turn the light off on the way out?

Beijing, as capital of the world's most dynamic emerging economy, is a magnet for Australian corporate interests and our Olympians are not the only ones dreaming of gold.

Neither malfunctioning aircraft nor interest rate unrest can keep them away. National Australia Bank chief executive John Stewart will attend, as will John Borghetti, executive general manager of Qantas.

The entire executive team of BHP Billiton will be at the Games, as will several board members, including chairman Don Argus. The company is a major sponsor of the Australian team and also does billions of dollars of business each year selling minerals to China.

The mining giant's largesse does not stop there. A further 200 staff from offices around the world have won Olympic tickets-and-accommodation packages as part of the company's internal rewards program.

Kevin Hobgood-Brown runs the Australia China Business Council and is a partner in law firm Deacons, which has a big practice in China. "All the top corporates in Australia will be represented," he said. "Over that three-week period there will be a wonderful representation of Australian interests. Universities, architecture firms, big companies. Anybody who has got something going on in China will be there in one form or another."

The list of business heavyweights will run deep and wide. It includes Maquarie Bank chairman David Clarke and Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Mitch Hook. Former Victorian premier Steve Bracks will attend, thanks to his new role as a senior adviser at accounting firm KPMG, as will leading architects including John Bilmon from PTW, who designed the Olympic swimming stadium.

AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and chief executive Andrew Demetriou will be there during the first week. Demetriou's deputy, Gillon McLachlan, will arrive for the second week. All three will attend as guests of the Seven Network. A spokesman said yesterday the senior AFL men were going to check out recent advances in TV coverage before the renegotiation of television rights for their sport.

Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley faces an unusual clash. He has pledged to be in China for at least the group stages of the Olyroos' campaign. But that would mean he would miss the official launch of the new A-League season on August 11. A spokeswoman said he might fly back to Australia for the event before returning to Beijing.

It's not just the business and sporting elite who will be in the stands. Federal Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop will also be a guest of Seven, jetting into Beijing for the final week of the games. Sports Minister Kate Ellis will be there and is looking forward to attending some swimming and soccer. Trade Minister Simon Crean is also expected to attend.

The Federal Government, through Austrade, will have a substantial presence. Under the moniker Business Club Australia, 3000 Australian companies will send representatives to the Chinese capital, eager to build networks, make contacts and win new business. The banner event will be an August 8 gala function for more than 200 guests at the Beijing Hilton to be attended by Prime Minister Rudd. Afterwards, the PM will duck out to catch the opening ceremony.

Austrade chief economist Tim Harcourt said: "It's all about giving Australian businesses better exposure and access to the Chinese leadership. There will be all the big players over here. The Rio Tintos and BHP Billitons and Woodsides. But there will also be smaller and medium businesses.

"It's like matchmaking. We just try to get them to exchange phone numbers. What happens after that is up to them."

Mr Hobgood-Brown said major players such as Seven, BHP Billiton and Telstra would run massive corporate entertainment operations in Beijing. That involves inviting "guests", who are customarily subsidised and offered tickets and or expensive accommodation packages. A spokesman for the Seven Network would not say yesterday how many guests the network was taking to Beijing or disclose any of their identities.

"We've been consistently discreet on who'll be attending the Games with us since the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992," he said.

Top Telstra executives, including Mr Trujillo and Sensis chief executive Bruce Akhurst will be on hand to mix business with sporting pleasure. "The Olympic Games are important to Telstra, not just because of our sponsorship, but because of our increasing business interests in China," a company spokesman said last night.