BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The launching ceremony of the 2018 Olympic Expo was held here on Friday, marking the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

2018 is the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and is also the 10th anniversary of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Expo. In terms of both content and form, the 2018 Olympic Expo will highlight the historical moment.

The 2018 Olympic Expo is scheduled to be held in Beijing and Shanghai with the theme of "Twice Olympic Cities."

The theme is meant to commemorate the cities hosting or being set host two Olympic Games in the history. It aims to demonstrate the positive influence and changes brought about by the Olympic Games for the host country's development, urban construction and social economy.

The Beijing 2018 Olympic Expo will be opened at the Beijing Exhibition Center on August 8. Regular projects will be showed at the expo, highlighting themes like Olympic heritage, the Olympics and Art, Olympics and Extreme Intelligence, the Winter Olympics Sports Gear, the Silk Road and Olympia, the Olympics and China, and the Olympics sponsors.

In addition, special projects will also be exhibited, such as Olympics and Fashion, Olympic Market Forum, Olympics and Children, Olympics and Sports Science.

These themes communicate a key point: "the Olympics, not just sports", alluding to the higher ideals espoused by the international Olympic movement.

The 2018 Olympic Market Forum is jointly organized by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the Samaranch Foundation. It provides opportunities for well-known experts, scholars, enterprises, and institutions in the Olympic industry to learn from each other and create a multi-dimensional communication platform integrating forums, promotional campaigns and resource sharing.