2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
![]() |
Part of a series on |
2008 Summer Olympics |
---|
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_2.jpg/250px-2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_2.jpg)
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time (UTC+8) on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number.[1][2][3][4][5] The number 8[6] is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture.[6] The stadium was full to its 91,000 capacity according to organizers.[7]
The ceremony was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who was the chief director and was assisted by Chinese choreographers Zhang Jigang and Chen Weiya.[8] The director of music for the ceremony was composer Chen Qigang.[8][9][10] It was noted for its focus on ancient Chinese culture, and for its creativity, as well as being the first to use weather modification technology to prevent rainfall.[11] The final ascent to the torch featured Olympic gymnast Li Ning, who appeared to run through air around the membrane of the stadium. Featuring more than 15,000 performers, the ceremony lasted over four hours and was reported to have cost over US$100 million to produce.[12] The opening ceremony was lauded by spectators and various international presses as spectacular and spellbinding and by many accounts "the greatest ever".[13]
Attending heads of state
More than 100 heads of state, heads of government and sovereigns attended the opening ceremony.[14][15] The number of heads of state who attended the opening ceremony was by far the largest in Olympic history.[16][17][18]
Sequence of events
Welcoming ceremony
The opening ceremony proper began with a contemporary drum sequence by 2,008 Fou drummers[20]. The LED-embedded Fou drums and their glowing drumsticks were lit up by the drummers. In formation, the drummers lit their drums to form giant digits (in both Arabic and Chinese numerals) to countdown the final seconds to the Games and herald the start of the opening time of 8:08 p.m. local time, in continuation of the 8/08/08 opening date.[21][22]
A trail of 29 fireworks, another of the great Chinese inventions, in the shape of footprints were let off marching along Beijing city's central axis into the national stadium.[23] The firework footprints were set off at the rate of 1 every second, each represented one of the 29 Olympiads, signifying the Beijing Olympics as the XXIX Olympiad of the modern era.
Next, twenty "fairies" (Buddhist apsaras of the Mogao Caves)[citation needed] were suspended in midair as they hovered near giant Olympic rings which seemed to float in the stadium,[21] each holding 45,000 beads.[24] The Olympics rings were then lifted up high vertically to show the complete Olympics emblem.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_6.jpg/220px-2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_6.jpg)
Attention was then turned to 56 young children representing the 56 ethnic groups of modern China. Each was Han Chinese, but donned an ethnic costume. They marched in the flag of the People's Republic of China as a young girl in red, 9-year-old Lin Miaoke (林妙可), was seen performing Ode to the Motherland while listeners heard the voice of Yang Peiyi (楊沛宜), a seven-year-old.[25] Only one-third of Ode to the Motherland was sung to save time. The flag of the People's Republic of China was then handed over to eight well-dressed People's Liberation Army soldiers who carried the flag in a slow, goose-stepping march over to the flag podium and the Chinese national anthem March of the Volunteers was sung by a 224-member choir while the flag was raised.
Artistic section
At the prelude to the section, Beautiful Olympics, a short film was screened depicting the making of paper, another of the Four Great Inventions. Ceramics, porcelain vessels and other Chinese fine arts artifacts were beamed on a giant LED paper scroll, representing the first great Chinese inventions, paper, and displaying animated graphics, slowly unfurling. At its center was a piece of white canvas paper, which then ushered in a performance of black-costumed dancers whose hands hid brushes that had been dipped in ink. They performed a dance while leaving their trails on the block of white paper, reminiscent of Chinese ink and wash art.[26] This was accompanied by the sounds of the guqin, China's ancient 7-string zither, as played by Chen Leiji (陳雷激). The LED scroll then showed an old, rare painting by Wang Ximeng.
The giant scroll was then moved aside to show a fluid array of 897 movable type blocks that formed three variations of the character 和 (harmony), representing the third great Chinese invention: the movable type press. The character was shown, consecutively, in Bronze inscription, Seal script and Kai Script (Modern Chinese Script). 810 Zhou-era performers representing the 3000 Disciples of Confucius, carrying bamboo slips, recited excerpts from the Analects: "Isn't it great to have friends coming from afar?" and "All men are brothers within the four seas." The blocks changed into a small version of the Great Wall, which then sprouted plum blossoms, the Chinese symbol for openness.[27][28] At the end of the sequence the tops of the movable type blocks came off to reveal 897 performers, who waved vigorously to the crowds, indicating that the individual pieces of type block were not computer controlled and synchronized, but rather the combined efforts of 897 perfectly in sync performers.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_5.jpg/220px-2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_5.jpg)
The next segment saw ancient terracotta soldiers and Chinese opera,[22] followed by a Beijing opera puppetry performance. The Wusheng type of Beijing opera performers was also enacted.
Next, a female dancer dressed in Tang-era clothing entered, suspended by a rectangular extension held by hundreds of performers. On the giant LED screen was a depiction of the ancient Silk Road. This was followed by a procession of men, in blue costumes, who with huge oars formed formations of junks, symbolizing the expeditions of Zheng He. A performer holding another great Chinese invention, the compass, in its ancient form a metal spoon floating in a fluid suspensible vessel, danced in the center of the giant LED scroll that showed images of sailing junks and maps of Zheng He's seven voyages.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_8.jpg/220px-2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_8.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremony.jpg/220px-2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremony.jpg)
The next segment featured Kunqu, one of the oldest extant Chinese operas, with two opera artists, a man singing and a woman accompanying on a guzheng. Another male performer then painted on the scroll painting with a Chinese brush in front of several guzheng players. The giant LED scroll expanded and showed several beautiful classic paintings in succession. At this point, two rows of huge royal dragon pillars called huabiao (华表) emerged and stretched skyward, as pink and orange fireworks were set off overhead
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Chinese_pianist_Lang_Lang_the_Opening_Ceremony_of_the_2008_Olympic_Games.jpg/220px-Chinese_pianist_Lang_Lang_the_Opening_Ceremony_of_the_2008_Olympic_Games.jpg)
Then followed the modern segment where pianist Lang Lang and five-year-old Li Muzi[29] performed a melody from the Yellow River Cantata.[citation needed] Around the pianists a sea of rainbow-coloured luminescent performers swayed in wave-like unison to suggest the flow of the Yellow River. The illuminated performers, symbolizing modern-day China, then arranged themselves in the shape of the Dove of Peace, which wings were then set into motion as the performers moved about. They formed the bird's nest shape of the Beijing National Stadium. When a young girl flew a kite - also a Chinese invention - above them in mid-air, the performers lights flickered in an intricate pattern.
A Tàijíquán performance by 2,008 masters[30] showed the fluid movements achieved when in harmony with nature. They demonstrated martial arts while combining to form geometric mass human formations. A skit was shown with schoolchildren drawing and coloring on the paper scroll and chanting poetry. These were the same children representing the 56 ethnic groups of China. They symbolized a Green Olympics (to protect the world). As their sequence drew to an end, the giant white paper was lifted vertically to reveal a drawing of mountains and waters with a smiling face as the sun. Then, there was a light presentation showing brightly-coloured flying birds, symbolizing the rebirth of the phoenix and the bird-nest stadium itself.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_4.jpg/220px-2008_Summer_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony_4.jpg)
The next segment was a celestial show and the arrival of astronauts symbolizing Chinese space exploration, with a gigantic, 60-foot, 16-tonned[22] ball structure representing the earth. 58 acrobats tumbled rightside up, sideways or upside down on its surface, which was then transformed into a giant glowing Chinese lantern.
The Chinese singer Liu Huan and British singer Sarah Brightman, stood on the central platform, sang the 2008 Olympic theme song: You and Me.[28]
2,008 performers then held out parasols with smiling faces of young children.[31] This was followed by red and orange fireworks in the form of smiley faces. The representatives from the 56 ethnic groups danced a vigorous folk dance.
Parade of nations
The athletes taking part in the 29th Olympiad parade of nations marched out to the centre of the Stadium.
In accordance with Olympic tradition, the national team of Greece, which hosted the last Summer Olympics, in Athens, entered first, in honor of Greece's status as the birthplace of the Olympics; while the host country came last. Greece entering first and China entering last symbolized the two most recent Summer Olympics host nations.
Traditionally nations are ordered in alphabetic order of the national language of the host country (or if there's more than one, the more dominant of the languages of the area of the host city, as it would be indicated during the next Olympics, in Vancouver, when the countries entered in English, although French and English, the languages of the Olympics, are also the languages of Canada, as it's the more dominant of the two in Vancouver and in the province of British Columbia.); as Chinese writing is not alphabetic, the teams paraded by stroke order of the first character of their respective countries' names in Simplified Chinese.[4]
Countries with the same number of strokes in the first character are sorted by the order of the five basic strokes in Chinese characters (Chinese: 一,丨,丿,丶,乙.). If two or more countries have the same first character, then compare the strokes of the second one. For example, Latvia (Chinese: 拉脱维亚), Great Britain (Chinese: 英国), and British Virgin Islands (Chinese: 英属维尔京群岛) are the 114th,115th and 116th to entry respectively while the first character of their names are all 8 strokes. However,the strokes order of Latvia's first character (拉) is 一丨一丶一丶丿一 while that of Great Britain is 一丨丨丨乙一丿丶. Latvia's 3rd stroke (一) is before that of Great Britain (丨), which made Latvia enter ahead of Great Britain. The first character in Britain's name and the one in British Virgin Island are the same one (英). But the second one in Great Britain's name is guo (国), which has 8 strokes, while the one in British Virgin Islands is 属, which has 12 strokes. So Great Britain entered before British Virgin Islands. This made Guinea (几内亚) the second country to enter following Greece as it only takes two strokes to write the first character in the country's name (几). Australia (Chinese: 澳大利亚) marched 202nd, just ahead of Zambia (赞比亚), which was the last country to march before China.[32] The first characters of these countries' names (澳 and 赞) are written 15 and 16 strokes respectively.
Announcers in the stadium read off the names of the marching nations in French, English, (the official languages of the Olympics) and Standard Chinese with music accompanying the athletes as they marched into the stadium. The leading signs of delegations, carried by young Chinese women in stylish red dresses, had their names in these three languages printed in Chinese calligraphy style. Chinese names of most states were condensed to their short form when possible. For example, Bosnia and Herzegovina (波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那) entered as Bohei (波黑) in Chinese, while Saudi Arabia (沙特阿拉伯) entered as simply Shate (沙特). The exception was the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which entered in Chinese as its full designation (前南斯拉夫马其顿共和国) because of the Macedonia naming dispute. China entered as People's Republic of China in English and French, but simply as Zhongguo (中国) in Chinese.
The athletes marched along the tracks toward the center of the stadium, which was encircled by white-capped Chinese cheerleaders welcoming each contingent. As they did so, they would step on colored ink before treading on the Chinese painting done earlier by the children and the performance artists.
Throughout the entire Parade of Nations, the Olympic athletes were treated to live traditional music ensembles, hand-picked by the Chinese Olympic committee from around the world. Each ensemble represented a continent from the five Olympic rings. The groups included Chinese orchestra, Scottish bagpipers (Fintry Pipe Band), Aboriginal musicians and dancers from Australia (William Barton), South African drummers (Drum Cafe), and North American mariachi group (Mariachi Mujer 2000).
Unlike in previous years, North and South Korea did not send a unified team; their athletes marched in separately as Korea Republic (South Korea, Chinese: 韩国) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea, Chinese: 朝鲜民主主义人民共和国).[33] Taiwan marched under the name "Chinese Taipei" (Chinese: 中华台北) per a 1989 agreement - and the Chinese media has seemed to follow suit, referring to Taiwan as Zhonghua Taibei (Chinese: 中華台北).[34][35]
The Chinese contingent, which was last, was led by Yao Ming and Lin Hao, the 9-year-old primary school student who had rescued two schoolmates during the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake.[36][37]
Speeches by the Presidents
Liu Qi, the head of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, gave a speech in Mandarin welcoming the athletes. Jacques Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee, followed with a speech in English, praising the Chinese for their warm reception and effort. He urged the athletes to "have fun" and to reject doping and performance enhancement drugs. This reminder was reiterated in French. Afterward, Hu Jintao, the President of the People's Republic of China, formally announced the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics.[38]
The Olympic flag was carried in by eight former athletes from China. They were:
- Zhang Xielin (table-tennis)
- Pan Duo (Everest mountaineer)
- Zheng Fengrong (athletics)
- Yang Yang (A) (short track speed skating)
- Yang Ling (shooting)
- Mu Xiangxiong (swimming)
- Xiong Ni (diving)
- Li Lingwei (badminton)
They then passed on the flag to soldiers of the People's Liberation Army as the flag was raised and the Olympic anthem played. A multinational chorus of 80 children sang the Olympic Anthem in Greek. Chinese table tennis champion Zhang Yining and arbiter Huang Liping took the Olympic oath, representing athletes and officials respectively.
There was a short dance presentation, followed by bright yellow fireworks - representing the release of doves of peace.
Torch relay and the lighting of the flame cauldron
At this point, the Olympic flame entered the stadium as a continuation of the Beijing relay leg from the outside. The Olympic torch was relayed around the stadium by 7 athletes, and was finally passed on to Li Ning, the former Olympic gymnast champion, the 8th and final athlete.
The eight athletes were, in order:
- Xu Haifeng (shooting, China's first Olympic gold medalist in any event, 1984)
- Gao Min (diving, China's first repeat Olympic gold medalist in any event, 1988 and 1992)
- Li Xiaoshuang (gymnastics, China's first gymnastics all-around World Champion and Olympic gold medalist, 1992 and 1996)
- Zhan Xugang (weightlifting, China's first double Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting, 1996 and 2000)
- Zhang Jun (badminton, double Olympic gold medalist in mixed doubles badminton, 2000 and 2004)
- Chen Zhong (taekwondo, China's first and double taekwondo gold medalist, 2000 and 2004)
- Sun Jinfang (volleyball, member of team that won China's first major championship in a team sport)
- Li Ning (gymnastics, China's most decorated athlete at its first Olympics, 1984)
Li Ning, who was suspended by wires, then appeared to run horizontally along the walls of the stadium through to the Olympic cauldron, which at this moment was still not shown. As he ran along the upper wall of the stadium, the projection displayed a scroll opening ahead of him, on which was beamed footages of previous torch relays around the world. At the final moment, a spotlight revealed the final resting place of the Olympics flame, which had appeared during the torch run. A colossal torch situated at the top of the stadium was lit by a proportionately large fuse.[39]
A flurry of spectacular fireworks of various colours and shapes, some projecting Olympic rings, others forming hoops, flower outwards, fountain or float down, accompanied the ending of the ceremony. The ceremony ended at 12:09 am, August 9, 2008 CST, which was later than the time originally planned: 11:30 pm, August 8.But it was amasing
Encore
As the audience started to exit the stadium, singers from Mainland China and Hong Kong came onto the stage to provide music as a way to stall the audience from leaving all at once. Jackie Chan, Karen Mok, Han Hong, and Sun Nan (孙楠) sang the first song, "Stand Up"; while Andy Lau, Nicolas Tse, Joey Yung, Wakin Chau, Wang Feng, and Sun Yue sang the second song, "Cheering for Life". Since the ceremony was already overtime by then, this portion was not televised.[40]
Creative team
The creative team for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games consisted of a roster of renowned individuals. The artistic performance of the Opening Ceremony, titled the "Beautiful Olympics", had the internationally acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Yimou as General Director, and Zhang Jigang and Chen Weiya as Deputy General Directors. Its core planning team comprised some of the best artists and technology experts in the world, including Yu Jianping, Lu Jiankang, Cai Guoqiang, Chen Qigang, British stagecraft designer Mark Fisher, Chen Yan, Sha Xiaolang, Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka, Xu Jiahua, Cheng Xiaodong, and Tan Dun.
In 2006, the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) initially chose American film-maker Steven Spielberg, Yves Pepin, head of the French entertainment group ECA2, and Sydney Games opening ceremony director Ric Birch as special consultants.[41] In February 2008, Spielberg pulled out of his role as advisor in protest over China's alleged continuing support of the Sudanese government and the ongoing violence in the Darfur region.[42] American composer Quincy Jones offered to write a theme tune for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and decided to stay on and contribute to the Beijing Olympics.[43] Chinese film-maker Ang Lee was also part of the team creating the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games.[44]
Gillian Chung was originally scheduled to be a performer at the opening ceremony, but due to the Edison Chen photo scandal, director Zhang Yimou replaced her and her partner, Charlene Choi (not involved in the photo incident) with PRC C-pop act A-One.[45] A-One was not a part of the performances on August 8.
Incidents and controversies
Accident during rehearsal
Liu Yan, one of China’s top classical Chinese dancers, fell from a three-meter high platform during practice on July 27, 2008 and sustained severe spinal injuries. She was paralyzed waist-down after a six-hour operation. Despite her not performing in the ceremony proper, deputy director Zhang Jigang ensured Liu's name was written in the program as the lead dancer.[46]
In an interview after visiting Liu Yan in the hospital, Director Zhang Yimou said, "I feel sorry for Liu Yan, my heart is full of regrets, I’m deeply sorry. Liu Yan is a heroine. She sacrificed a lot for the Olympics, for me, for the opening ceremony." Shortly after the opening ceremony, in an earlier media interview, Zhang expressed: "I regret many things, many details of this performance, many things I could have done better. For example, there are performers who were injured. I blame myself for that."[47]
Rehearsal leakage
The South Korean Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) secretly filmed rehearsals of the opening ceremony and leaked parts of it, violating a prohibition by the Organizing Committee.[48] The video was uploaded at YouTube on July 30, 2008, but was deleted soon after its upload. However, several additional videos have been uploaded by other users.[49] The Organizing Committee investigated the unauthorized filming,[50] and on August 6, 2008, banned SBS cameras inside the stadium during the ceremony as reprisals for the leak.[51]
Girl lip-synching to recording by another singer
The song "Ode to the Motherland" appeared to be sung by Lin Miaoke at the ceremony, but it emerged she had mimed her performance to a recording by another girl, Yang Peiyi. It was a last minute decision to use lip-synching, following a Politburo member's objection to Lin's voice.[25][52][53][54] International Olympic Committee executive director Gilbert Felli defended the use of a more photogenic double.[55] Although the names of both Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi appeared in the programme notes[56], the vast majority who watched the broadcast did not realise Yang Peiyi's role until several days later when music director Chen Qigang acknowledged it.
Performers at previous Olympic opening ceremonies had occasionally synched to recordings of their own performance, such as the tenor Luciano Pavarotti at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, due to his pancreatic cancer.[57] Then nine-year-old Eleonora Benetti also lip-synched to a previous recording of the Italian National Anthem.[58] The Sydney Symphony Orchestra appeared to perform at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, but the music spectators heard was entirely pre-recorded, with some of the music pre-recorded by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.[59]
Computer-simulated fireworks
Television coverage of the fireworks show which displayed the 29 firework "footprints" outside the stadium was simulated by computer animation.[60][61] Twenty-nine sets of fireworks in the shape of a footprint did actually go off, but it was decided that it would be difficult and dangerous to get a good shot from helicopters capturing all 29 of the footsteps (which went off every two seconds), so a CGI of 27 of the footprints was made for television broadcasts, and only the last two were filmed live. The 55 seconds of display took the BOCOG a year to choreograph. The substitution of CGI footage was mentioned during the time-delayed U.S. broadcast of the ceremony on NBC by announcers Matt Lauer and Bob Costas.[57][62][63]
Children representing minority groups
On August 15, Wang Wei, the vice president of the BOCOG confirmed that children who appeared in the opening ceremony in the costumes of the 56 ethnic groups of modern China did not belong to the ethnic minorities their costumes indicated, as described in publicity materials, but instead all or most were members of the majority Han Chinese. Wang said it was "traditional" and not unusual for actors in China to wear different ethnic costumes.[64][65]
Reception
Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, described the ceremony as "spectacular" and an "unforgettable and moving ceremony that celebrated the imagination, originality and energy of the Beijing Games." He hailed the Beijing National Stadium as "one of the world's new wonders" and a "fitting setting for an amazing Opening Ceremony." Hein Verbruggen, IOC Member and Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, called the ceremony "a night to remember", "a breathtaking culmination of seven years of planning and preparation" and "an unprecedented and grand success" that exceeded all his expectations.[66]
The AFP called it "a spectacular opening ceremony."[67] The BBC and The Times concurred by calling it a dazzling and spectacular show in Beijing.[68][69] The Associated Press praised the show as spectacular with an extravaganza of pageantry and "interlude of fervor and magic" as well as being "spellbinding" and noted the show steered clear of modern politics.[70] The USA Today described it as an exhilarating display of China's thousands of years of traditions of art and culture[71], and the Art Daily stated it was a celebration of China's ancient history, along with sumptuous costumes from different imperial dynasties.[72] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times commented that "the scope, precision and beauty of the production was, you will agree, astonishing."[73] The Spanish media were impressed by the opening ceremony,[74] with Antena 3 describing the ceremony as "an astonishing effort," while Cuatro called it "awesome and impressive."[74] Cadena COPE said it was "the most dramatic Olympic opening ceremony ever."[74] Germany's Deutsche Welle also praised it as a spectacular and a firecracker of a show, and a trip through China's rich history.[75]
Steven Spielberg called the show "an unforgettable spectacle" and "arguably the grandest spectacle of the new millennium."[76] At the end of 2008, the American Film Institute selected the coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony as one of their "Eight Moments of Significance" of the year of 2008, and states: "The opening ceremony, directed and staged by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, marked the most significant live event of the year" and it described the opening ceremony as "staged with breathtaking poetry."[77]
World leaders were also impressed by the opening ceremony. U.S. President George W. Bush described the ceremony as "spectacular and successful".[78] Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called it "the spectacular to end all spectaculars and probably can never be bettered."[79]
While praise for the opening ceremony was widespread amongst the world's media,[13] the Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times described some western media reactions as "cynical" and "hostile".[80] The Globe and Mail had a column with title "The iron hand behind the magic show",[81] some questioned the "heavy military theme".[82] Asia Times, although praising the show as "stunning opening ceremony...with its panoply of color, painstaking choreography and sweeping portrait of Chinese culture and history" referred to the games as one devoid of "fun" in its article headlined "Awe (but no laughter) in Beijing".[83]
Television
Estimates of the global television audience varied: "around one billion" (Reuters);[84] "experts estimated ... more than two billion" (Wall Street Journal);[85] "2.3 billion" (MindShare);[86] "Billions...probably the largest live television audience in history" (Bloomberg);[87] "3 billion" (Sky News);[88] "nearly 4 billion" (Xinhua);[89] "as many as 4 billion" (Washington Post);[90] "estimated 4 billion" (McClatchy).[91] This included an estimated 842 million viewers watching on host Chinese broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), with polls ranging from 63 and 69 percent of the Chinese viewing population, exceeding that of the 51-58 percent who watch the network's annual Chinese New Year gala.[84]
The BBC reported five million viewers in the United Kingdom, the Seven Network had 7.8 million viewers in Australia, The Hollywood Reporter said 4.4 million in France watched the ceremony, the ARD estimated 7.72 million viewers in Germany, while in Italy, RAI had 5.5 million viewers, and in Spain, TVE obtained 4 million viewers. In the United States, the NBC network delayed its telecast by 12 hours for evening primetime viewing, though Americans in markets bordering Canada could watch it on CBC Television, and others watched clips of it earlier on YouTube and other online video websites.[92] Still, it managed to capture an average of 34.2 million viewers[93][94] and a total of 69.9 million viewers.[63] The ceremony, therefore, became the most watched Olympic Opening Ceremony ever held in a non-U.S. city by American audience,[94] a record previously held by the Lillehammer Games of 1994.[93] It was the biggest television event in the U.S. in 2008 since the Super Bowl, and it also surpassed the ratings for the 2008 Academy Awards ceremony and that year's finale of American Idol.[94]
Dedication
In the United States, NBC concluded its broadcast with a message saying that their coverage of the opening ceremony was dedicated in memory of Jim McKay, longtime Olympics broadcaster with rival ABC, who died two months before.[95] ABC "loaned" McKay to NBC to serve as a special correspondent during their coverage of the Salt Lake City Olympics.[96]
See also
Media related to 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony at Wikimedia Commons
- 2008 Summer Olympics national flag bearers
- Four Great Inventions of ancient China
- 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
References
- ^ "Tickets Information - The official ticketing website of the BEIJING 2008 Olympic Games".
- ^ "Beijing Confirms the Opening Ceremony Time for 2008 Olympics", Travel China Guide. Retrieved on August 2, 2008
- ^ "Photo: Opening ceremony sample ticket". Official website. 2008-04-23.
- ^ a b "Opening Ceremony plan released". Official website. 2008-08-06. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
- ^ "Beijing 2008 As the final seconds ticked away". Omega, official timekeeper.
- ^ a b "The Number Eight And The Chinese". Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ Bristow, Michael (2008-08-09). "Spectators awed as Games begin". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- ^ a b Zhang Yimou and his five creative generals
- ^ "How the Opening Ceremony was born".
- ^ "Behind the 29th Olympic Opening Ceremony". radio86.co.uk.
- ^ Xinhua (August 9, 2008). "Beijing disperses rain to dry Olympic night". Chinaview.cn.
- ^ Brand, Madeleine; Berkes, Howard (August 8, 2008). "China Celebrates Opening Of Summer Olympics". NPR.
- ^ a b "Press hails 'greatest ever' Olympic opening show". Agence France-Presse. 2008-08-09. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- ^ "Emotion kicks off China's Olympics". CNN. 2008-08-09.
- ^ "FACTBOX: World leaders to attend Olympics opening in Beijing". Reuters. 2008-08-06.
- ^ http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6466194.html
- ^ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/07/content_9033271.htm
- ^ "Beijing lifts air quality goal for games", World News Australia
- ^ Santo Tomas, Jojo (2008-08-09). "2008 Olympics get under way: Judoka Ric Blas Jr. chosen as flagbearer". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved 2008-08-08. [dead link]
- ^ Ancient Chinese music at Beijing Olympics opening
- ^ a b "Live Coverage: Welcoming Ceremony". www.beijing2008.cn. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ a b c "Beijing dazzles: Chinese history, athletes on parade as Olympics begin". CBC Sports. August 8, 2008.
- ^ Winder, Davey (August 9, 2008). "Olympics: the power and the glory - China leaves world in Olympics opening ceremony footage". Times of London.
- ^ Henderson, John (August 8, 2008). "Opening ceremonies wow crowd". The Denver Post.
- ^ a b Yardley, Jim (August 13, 2008). "In Grand Olympic Show, Some Sleight of Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Feature: Chinese culture shines at dazzling Olympics opening ceremony". Xinhua. 2008-08-09.
- ^ Birch, Ric (August 17, 2008). "How the Opening Ceremony went like a dream". Sunday Herald Sun.
- ^ a b Macartney, Jane (August 9, 2008). "Olympics: the power and the glory - China leaves world awestruck". Times of London.
- ^ Lang delights the crowd with moving performance Chen Jie, China Daily Staff Writer.
- ^ Art performance of Beijing Olympics opening ceremony showcases Chinese culture www.chinaview.cn, 2008-08-08
- ^ Most of the smiling photos are collected by MERRY PROJECT.
- ^ "Olympics athletes march to be done to different drum". ABC Radio Australia. July 29, 2008.
- ^ Tedmanson, Sophie (August 8, 2008). "North and South Korea to march separately in Olympics opening ceremony". Times of London. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
- ^ Hsiu-Chuan, Shih; Shu-Ling, Ko (July 25, 2008). "Taiwan's Olympic title fuels controversy". Taipei Times. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
- ^ Cazeneuve, Brian (August 8, 2008). "China makes its opening statement". CNN. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
- ^ "Yao Ming and boy from quake zone lead Team China into opening ceremony".
- ^ Hughes, Mary (August 9, 2008). "Beijing's Opening Ceremony Finds a Hero". Most Valuable Network, MA.
- ^ Chinese President Hu Jintao declares open Beijing Olympic Games
- ^ Former gymnast Li Ning lights Olympic cauldron
- ^ 華仔鳥巢獻唱 港人無眼福 祖兒見證奧運開幕 感動想喊, Sing Tao Daily. 2008-08-10.
- ^ "Zhang Yimou to direct opening ceremony of Beijing Olypmics". Chinadaily. April 17, 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
- ^ Abramowitz, Rachel (February 18, 2008). "Spielberg drops out as Beijing Olympics advisor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-02-13. [dead link]
- ^ Daunt, Tina (August 19, 2008). "Quincy Jones stays with Beijing Summer Olympics". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Ang Lee joins Olympic directing team". The Guardian. London. October 17, 2006.
- ^ "Dirty downloads: diva axed from Olympic ceremony". Sydney Morning Herald. February 26, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2008. [dead link]
- ^ Jin, Wu; Xiaoying, Hou (August 13, 2008). "Tragedy of paralyzed Olympic dancer". China.org.cn.
- ^ Barboza, David (August 15, 2008). "Behind the Opening Ceremony, a Paralyzing Fall". New York Times.
- ^ "Beijing opening ceremony leaked". Sydney Morning Herald. July 31, 2008.
- ^ "韩媒曝光北京奥运开幕式细节遭网友谴责 (Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony details made public)".
- ^ "Defiant China hits out at US, stands firm on Internet censorship". July 31, 2008.
- ^ Associated Press (August 6, 2008). "Broadcaster banned for Olympic breach". NBC News.
- ^ Spencer, Richard (August 12, 2008). "Beijing Olympics: Faking scandal over girl who 'sang' in opening ceremony". The Telegraph. London.
- ^ The radio interview of the music director Chen Qigang on YouTube
- ^ Bristow, Michael (2008-08-12). "China Olympic ceremony star mimed". BBC News.
- ^ Agence France-Presse (August 13, 2008). "Organisers defend fake ceremony singer". iol.
- ^ http://i1.hk/u/attachments/day_080818/20080818_6b737a87cd8ab18ee6c04o5Xf83WXwzl.jpg
- ^ a b Magnier, Mark (2008-08-13). "China abuzz over lip-syncing singer". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Foster, Chris; Elliot, Helene (February 13, 2006). "Injured Norstrom May Not Skate for Sweden". Los Angeles Times.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ Jinman, Richard (August 26, 2008). "Revealed: Sydney Olympics faked it too". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Spencer, Richard (2008-08-10). "Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints 'faked'". London: The Telegraph.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Beijing enhanced Olympic show with faked 'fireworks'". CNN. 2008-08-12. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
- ^ "Part of Olympic display altered in broadcast". MSNBC. 2008-08-11.
NBC broadcasters Matt Lauer and Bob Costas made mention of the alteration as it aired. 'You're looking at a cinematic device employed by Zhang Yimou here,' Lauer said. 'This is actually almost animation. A footstep a second, 29 in all, to signify the 29 Olympiads.' Costas responded, 'We said earlier that aspects of this Opening Ceremony are almost like cinema in real time. Well this is quite literally cinematic.'
- ^ a b Folkenfilk, David (August 12, 2008). "Live From Beijing: Computer-Enhanced Fireworks". NPR.
- ^ Spencer, Richard (2008-08-15). "Beijing Olympics: 'Ethnic' children exposed as fakes in opening ceremony". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ "Minority ethnic groups used in Games' opening were fake". Irish Times. August 16, 2008.
- ^ Verbruggen: Opening Ceremony a grand success
- ^ "Beijing's Games kick off with spectacular opening ceremony". AFP. 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- ^ "Games begin with spectacular show". BBC. 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- ^ "Olympic Opening Ceremony spectacular sets the bar high for London 2012". Times of London. August 9, 2008.
- ^ Crary, David (August 8, 2008). "China opens its long-sought Olympics spectacularly". The Boston Globe. Associated Press.
- ^ Lloyd, Janice (2008-08-08). "China opens Olympics with fireworks, pageantry". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Chinese Director Zhang Yimou Presents Dazzling Opening Ceremony at The Olympic Games". Art Daily. 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Ebert, Roger (August 9, 2008). "Zhang Yimou's gold medal". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ a b c "Spanish media impressed by Olympic opening ceremony". Earth Times. 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "China opens its long-sought Olympics spectacularly". Deutsche Welle. 2008-08-08.
- ^ "Person Of The Year 2008". Time. 2008-12-17.
- ^ "AFI picks 'Moments of Significance'". The Hollywood Reporter. 2008-12-29.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "News Feature: Bush blends sports, politics at Beijing Olympics _English_Xinhua". Archived from the original on 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "We Can Help China Embrace the Future - The Office Of Tony Blair". Archived from the original on 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Ling, Wong Mei (August 9, 2008). "Great show, but..." Singapore Straits Times.
- ^ Blatchford, Christie (August 9, 2008). "Beware the iron hand behind the magic show". The Globe and Mail. p. A13.
- ^ Beck, Lindsay (August 9, 2008). "Olympic opening gala wins raves, raises questions". Reuters.
- ^ Ewing, Kent (August 12, 2008). "Awe (but no laughter) in Beijing". Asia Daily.
- ^ a b Goldsmith, Belinda (2008-08-11). "Beijing opening night lures 15 percent of world". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Dean, Jason; Fong, Mei (2008-08-09). "Opening Ceremonies Aim To Illustrate Rise to Global Power". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (2008-08-08). "Beijing Olympics: UK firm behind TV titles for China state broadcaster". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Baynes, Dan (2008-08-08). "China's Hu Opens Beijing Games to Global Audience of Billions". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Stone, Mark (2008-08-11). "Parts of the spectacular Beijing Olympics opening ceremony were faked, it has emerged". Sky News. sky.com. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ "Beijing Olympics opening ceremony hailed all over world". Xinhua. 2008-08-09. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Cody, Edward; Fan, Maureen; Drew, Jill (August 9, 2008). "A Spectacular Opening to the 29th Olympiad". Washington Post.
- ^ Kaufman, Michelle (2008-08-11). "Let the fireworks begin: China's Opening Ceremony dazzles 91,000 in hazy Bird's Nest". Kansas City Star. McClatchy. Retrieved 2008-08-11. [dead link]
- ^ Stelter, Brian (August 9, 2008). "Tape Delay by NBC Faces End Run by Online Fans". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
- ^ a b Associated Press (February 13, 2010). "32.6 million watch opening of Winter Olympics". NBC News.
- ^ a b c Bauder, David (August 9, 2008). "Opening night is a big TV draw for NBC". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ Olympics 2008 Opening Ceremony Intro and Ending **Courtesy of NBC** on YouTube
- ^ 2002 Salt Lake City Opening Ceremonies - Intro on YouTube