Spectacular opening for Beijing Olympics 2008

China has presented a dramatic display of fireworks, music and dancing to mark the opening of its Beijing Olympics.

China has opened the Beijing Olympics with a burst of fireworks at a spectacular ceremony that celebrated ancient Chinese history and aimed to draw a line under months of political controversy. An army of 2,008 drummers pounded out the countdown to the games, in a display that gave China an opportunity to show off its economic might, but also galvanised critics of the communist government’s human rights record.

Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, declared the Games open. Jacques Rogge, head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said: “For a long time, China has dreamed of opening its doors and inviting the world’s athletes to Beijing for the Olympic Games. “Tonight that dream comes true. Congratulations, Beijing!”

In a spectacular finale, Li Ning, a former Chinese gold medal-winning gymnast, was hoisted high above the stadium on wires. In slow motion, Li Ning carried the Olympic torch on its final leg around the rim of the stadium before setting the giant Olympic cauldron ablaze.

Worldwide audience

About 80 world leaders, joined 91,000 spectators in the Bird’s Nest stadium for the opening. The global television audience is expected to exceed one billion. Fireworks rippled around the rim of the arena, with thousands of red, green and blue strobe lights flickering in the auditorium. A forest of drumsticks turned a luminous red, flashing bright in the hazy, humid air.

“Friends have come from afar, how happy we are,” the drummers chanted before a series of giant fireworks were set off, blasting across the heart of the Chinese capital and crossing Tiananmen Square as they progressed to the Bird’s Nest. The authorities opened Tiananmen Square, scene of a bloody crackdown of a student uprising in 1989, ahead of the ceremony to let people watch the fireworks, prompting thousands of Beijing residents to rush into the vast esplanade screaming “Go China!”

Friday’s ceremony capped seven years of work that reshaped Beijing and sets the seal on an industrial boom that has boosted China’s international standing. However, the Olympic spotlight has brought attention to the unrest in its Tibetan region showing that the Chinese leadership is not ready to brook any internal dissent.

Pictures : Beijing Olympics 2008 Openeing Ceremony

Advertisement

Add our News Feed