One World One Dream in Beijing
Beijing has finally welcomed the world to the Games of the 29th Olympiad with an Opening Ceremony which took place at the Beijing National Stadium which is affectionately known as the Bird’s Nest. To the eyes of the Chinese, the omens were good. The ceremony started at 8pm on the 8th of the 8th month of the year 2008 – auspicious in a country where eight is the luckiest number.
A splendid fireworks display burst forth from the Bird’s Nest and lit up the night sky with brilliant colors. It was witnessed by the maximum capacity of 91,000 people in the stadium with another 4 billion potential spectators worldwide. It was thought to be as the largest, costliest extravaganza in Olympic history, bookended by barrages of some 30,000 fireworks.
To the beat of sparkling explosions, the crowd counted down the final seconds before the show began. A sea of drummers—2,008 in all—pounded out rhythms with their hands, then acrobats on wires gently wafted down into the stadium as rockets shot up into the night sky from its rim.
It ended in spectacular fashion, when China’s first Olympic superstar, 1984 gymnastics triple gold medalist Li Ning, was hoisted by wires to the top of the stadium, circled the entire circumference as though he was spacewalking, then used his torch to send a torrent of flame spiraling upward to light the Olympic flame in a huge cauldron overlooking Beijing.
That was preceded by the parade of athletes, climaxing with the entry of the 639-strong Chinese team; It 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 story presented in Friday’s pageantry sought to distill 5,000 years of Chinese history—featuring everything from the Great Wall to opera puppets to astronauts, and highlighting achievements in art, music and science. Roughly 15,000 people were in the cast, all under the direction of Zhang Yimou, whose early films often ran afoul of government censors for their blunt portrayals of China’s problems.
He produced some majestic and ethereal imagery—at one point a huge, translucent globe emerged from the stadium floor, and acrobats floated magically around it to the accompaniment of the games’ theme song, “One World, One Dream.â€
The ceremony was taped for broadcast 12 hours later in the United States. It is expected to air at 7:30pm tonight EST on NBC.
thanks
the opening program of the olympic is indeed so lavish!
Reply
have you seen it? it was amazing! it really wowed the world!
Reply
jacy,
i watched the opening ceremonies last night and it had to be the most
spectacular and awesome of any opening ceremonies i’ve ever seen. i
really don’t think this will be repeated in our life time.
hope you are having a good weekend.
hugz
Reply
Deb,
i agree with you 100%. it is a once in a lifetime experience. the Chinese people have shown to us what art and culture is all about. you actually don’t know what to expect next. i was like, Chinese rocks!
i miss you, Deb!
Reply
hi jacy,gosh i wanted to watch the opening ceremony so bad but nakalimot ko,hehehe..What wonder would it be to be in a stadium full of different people from every walks of life and athletes trained to the maximum level.
Reply
oh really? you missed it?! don’t worry lods, i’m sure there will be a replay of it or you can watch clips online. everything was just spectacular!
when me and manang rorie volunteered for Philippine National Games, the feeling of being part of it is just overwhelming. i’m pretty sure those people who took part of it even those who are spectators of the opening would take big pride of what they have witnessed and what they were a part of. it must be a gazillion times more than what we felt.
Reply
Hi Mami Jace! I love watching Olympics but I opt out this time. I watched the highlights of the ceremony. Yes, it was lavish and they achieved such a spectacular display! But knowing that there are so many poor people in China who had suffered just for this to be a huge success, I’d rather stay at home and watch boring soaps. It’s our little protest =(
Reply
hello mami!
I thought you would be the first one to be following the Olympics since we have been into it since we were in high school. But i understand your side mami. The oppression has existed even before the olympics and its preparation has started di ba? This could be an avenue for a change though.
Reply
hi mami jace…i know, i love sports and i follow the Olympics gyud since…you’re right this could serve as an avenue for changes in their country. the world now is watching and hopefully they’ll listen unta.
thanks by the way sa b-day greetings mami in behalf of fafa g
xx
Reply
hello mami!
the weight of pressure is on their side. we’ll have to see if they will finally give in. hopefully this Olympics will change their mindset and how they are treating their people even their athletes.
you’re welcome sa birthday greetings. i could’ve done more. luv u mami!
Reply
awe i miss you too! hope things are going well for both of you. hugz
Reply
But some facts upset me and some peeps…
I quoted from them: “Chinese are cheating the whole time.”
- Fake fireworks, the opening ceremony singer, the real age of the athletes, etc. etc.
For justification:
1] Real fireworks would’ve added to pollution; People would’ve whined anyway of excessive pollution if real fireworks were used.
2] There wasn’t a swap with the little girls. One is a singer, while the other is a performer; The singer sang, the performer performed.
Reply
hello Sky!
if not from you, i would not have known that the fireworks were fake. if they were, they really did a good job in making it look like the real thing. i have nothing against it. they actually wowed me.
as for the others complain, let other people complain and whine. i just think the Olympics overall was a success. China proved they can handle such big responsibility. They did and they have bigger responsibilities ahead of them especially for their people.
Reply