The Olympics kick off in China amid fireworks and cheers - NP round-up

by Amy Judd | August 8, 2008 at 08:48 am

1648 views | 22 Recommendations | 18 comments

So it's official - the 29th Olympic Games have begun in Beijing, and the opening ceremonies did not disappoint. There were fireworks, loud cheers, world class athletes, world leaders, and let's not forget, the extravagant lighting of the huge torch that will burn for the entire games.
The display took place in the city's 'bird's nest' stadium, with leaders such as George Bush and Vladimir Putin looking on.
The weather was in favour of the games too it seemed, as no rain fell, and the skies were mostly clear (until the fireworks started anyway).

The opening, titled "Beautiful Olympics", had an overall theme of world harmony. The ceremony used many children to help convey its message of hope and harmony. A 9-year-old, Zhu Qiaoyan, chased a kite across the top of the vast new National Stadium, suspended by wires from the roof.

The Chinese seemed enthralled by the show. They participated with glowing colored sparklers, cheered loudly at every turn, and gave gracious greetings to the competing nations when the athletes made their traditional march into the stadium.

The athletes from the competing countries marched into the stadium according to their position in the Mandarin alphabet, with only two exceptions - Greece came at the front of the line, and China brought up the rear.

[China] was led by flag-bearer and basketball idol Yao Ming alongside a 9-year-old schoolboy who survived May's devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.

The Olympic torch had traveled about 137,000 km before being used to light the final torch in the opening ceremony.

China's six-time gymnastics gold medalist Li Ning, ran around the outside of the stadium on wires, then used the torch he was carrying to send flames shooting upwards to light the Olympic flame.

See a live blogging post about the opening ceremony here.

People who attended the opening ceremony had nothing but praise for China's efforts:

"It was fantastic. I was so moved," said 20-year-old Zhang Qiong, as she sat down at the end of the event to contemplate what she had just seen.

It was hard to find someone who disagreed with her.

There is no secret however that this games has already been marred by controversy, protests, and questions about whether China should be hosting the games at all.

The government fears that its critics at home and abroad will mar the games with protests. It also worries about terrorist attacks, perhaps by Muslim separatists in the far-western region of Xinjiang. Just four days before the start of the games, two alleged terrorists attacked a group of police in the Xinjiang city of Kashgar, killing 16. In Beijing during the build-up to the event there were also several small protests by foreign activists concerned about human and animal rights. Two Americans and two Britons were expelled from the country after unfurling banners near the stadium and calling for a “free Tibet”.

A man did set himself on fire in protest of China just before the opening ceremonies of the games.
Some of our members stories surrounding the Games:
Child Earthquake survivor leads Chinese team
Beijing 2008 / Berlin 1936 - The same but different
China opens Olympics with pageantry, pyrotechnics
One world, one dream
All about Olympic equestrian sports
Olympics kicks off on lucky eights

Of course the games is not a welcoming sight for everyone. Some migrant workers have been forced to leave Beijing for lack of work and an unwritten government policy encouraging migrant workers to clear out while the games are in session. It's all about appearances.

As the city readied itself for the pageantry and the fireworks of Friday night’s opening ceremonies, its main train station was packed with truck drivers, food vendors and factory workers whose jobs had been sacrificed to the Olympics juggernaut. The atmosphere was a mix of expectation and boredom, but also disappointment and regret.

Construction has been banned since July 20; factories with noxious emissions were closed all across the city. The scores of unfinished buildings that dot the skyline, their facades cloaked in Olympian banners, are a testament to the boom interrupted.

China has also been plagued with disasters leading up to the games. From the earthquake in May, to the pollution that is constantly plaguing the city, to the possible terrorist attack only days ago. But China has prevailed and the IOC stood by its decision to keep the games in Beijing.

It was time, the committee said, to bring the games to the homeland of 1.3 billion people, a fifth of humanity.

"For a long time, China has dreamed of opening its doors and inviting the world's athletes to Beijing for the Olympic Games," IOC President Jacques Rogge said in his speech. "Tonight, that dream comes true."

It seems like, with such a promising start, things will hopefully only go up from here.

Updates will be added to this story as events unfold.

The Huffington Post has a round-up of reviews here.

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JeffHuang

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:14 on August 8th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. Nicely done Amy. There has also been a lot of terrorist threats. Lets just hope they are only threats and nothing more.

Rhonda J Mangus

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:47 on August 8th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

alfred ng

at 15:52 on August 8th, 2008

Hi Amy,

I like to point out on your report on "Mandrian alphabet",

Two of the most spoken Chinese dialects are Mandarin and Cantonese but in writing all the Chinese alphabets (or character) are all the same. Mandarin is the official spoken language of China . (Mandarin speakers usually write in a more formal style and the Cantonese speakers’ writings are more casual) For either Mandarin or Cantonese speaker they might not understand each other by speaking but they can read and understand in writing. Chinese writing is calls Chinese, there are no such thing as mandarin writing or Cantonese writing which is a common mistake for non-Chinese. So it should be "according to their position in the Chinese character" . Hope this help.

Alfred

norawayne_sl

at 18:34 on August 8th, 2008

these photos are from the world of Second Life(TM). A community called Raglan Shire held their own Olympic games and the fireworks were part of the closing ceremonies.

norawayne_sl has contributed a photo to this story.

MusicPancake

at 23:09 on August 8th, 2008

Many Chinese are both honoured and proud of seeing China hosting the Olympic Games in August 2008. How others will see China? Maybe most people are excited to see the opening ceremony, the competitions, the joy and tear of the athletes. However, for the rest of the world, through the eyes of visitors and journalists, they will see how China improves over the years apart from economic success or having the ability to build new infrastructures and facilities. Ultimately, visitors' impression will be based upon their interactions with the people in China, the pollution, the law and order, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, etc. I hope that China will organize a marvellous Olympic Games and demonstrate to the world that she is a great country, not only great in mobilizing tremendous resources to prepare for the Olympic Games, but great in improving freedom of expression, allowing freedom of the press, respecting human rights and establishing independent rule of law.

MusicPancake has contributed a photo to this story.

Milieunet

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 01:25 on August 9th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

charlesfrith

at 02:18 on August 9th, 2008

Tiananmen Square Olympic Launch

charlesfrith has contributed a photo to this story.

josephine bouw

at 02:53 on August 9th, 2008

I've seen the total show of the opening of the Olympics at Beijing. It was very amazing and perfect. Full of fantasy and technique. Beautiful to look at and a great performance. I've never seen such a show before. Great achievement and compliments for all the workers and volunteers for doing such a great job. Maybe the most impressive Olympic show ever.

josephine bouw has contributed a photo to this story.

Sinophile (not verified)

at 05:59 on August 9th, 2008

Check out the blog at thesinophile.blogspot.com

moetwain

at 06:01 on August 9th, 2008

The games have begun and may the Olympics forge and strengthen friendships across nations. Mabuhay!

moetwain has contributed a photo to this story.

safari.photogirl

at 06:27 on August 9th, 2008

Wow, what an opening ceremeony, I don't know how us Brits are going to top that in 2012.

safari.photogirl has contributed a photo to this story.

kaitlynmeanspure

at 15:37 on August 9th, 2008

My younger sister Jaclyn has been anticipating the Beijing Olympics for months now. She even turned our garage sale into a pep rally for the US teams by posting signs around our yard and putting our flag up on our house.

kaitlynmeanspure has contributed a photo to this story.

silvergirl.lee

at 21:21 on August 9th, 2008

silvergirl.lee has contributed a photo to this story.

silvergirl.lee

at 21:18 on August 9th, 2008

It was great to see the Canadiana spirit alive and well during the parade of athletes. (Even though their "uniforms" weren't actually made in Canada...) And it was cool to see how other countries chose to represent themselves in even more traditional dress. My Prime Minister was not actually present however. Was yours?

There certainly is a political charge running alongside the entire event, but the opening ceremony was grand and colourful and spectacular with all the dancers, musicians, lights, and fireworks.

eureka23

at 01:50 on August 10th, 2008

The view from my hotel window as the countdown ended signaling the start of the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, China.

You can see the corner of the Bird's Nest on the right with the Water Cube in the middle and lights pouring over the city, just before the countdown reached 0.

eureka23 has contributed a photo to this story.