Beijing 2008 Olympics Opeing Ceremony

Yesterday’s night Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 29th Modern Olympics is spectacular.
Starting with the translucent see through hanging Olympics symbol, the globe of the hanging performer to the finishing touch of the flaming torch.
The show started with 2008 performer performing the modified electrical ancient Chinese Drum, counting down to the last minutes of the beginning of the biggest games ever. With start the performance of the celebration start, of course announcing the beginning of the event is the first most bombastic invention of the Chinese fireworks. With over millions dollar worth of fireworks, the show comes with the giant fireworks feet coming to Beijing Bird nest across Beijing city of every know path the torch of walk through for the past month. Then the Transparent hanging LED Olympic symbol light up and started hanging into the air.




Introducing the production of the paper in the ancient times, a huge 3D LED that’s shaped as the ancient rolled parchment begin to unroll and revealing the longest and largest LED screen I’ve ever seen. Dancer’s started dancing and drawing on a piece of white parchment the size of the performance stage with ink, which depicts the same Chinese ink drawing with only ink and water. Then we enter the second introduction of the ancient Chinese invention, The block letter printing system. With the rise and the falls of the block (wholly performed by human under the block), they forms the shape of Chinese character “Harmony”, some hill top and the Great Wall.


Next we come to the performance of a beautiful dancer performing the ancient art of Chinese dances wearing one of the most valuable commodity of ancient times. Silk, we begin the silk road to the Maritimes route of the silk trade and also brings in the last invention of the Chinese the compass. The ancient act is both laid and interwoven with some of the most tremendous Chinese culture, from the Chinese opera to the Chinese instrumental orchestra, to the Chinese puppet show.
With over 5000 performer, the show reminded me of the Seoul Olympics, the Asian Olympics is my first. They have the same huge human resources as Chinas. Just that the images is on the card board and not the LED screen and that itself signified the unity of people. As this years, the beginning of the 2008 drum are totally mind boggling-ly pound the floor and definitely creating and earthquake at the stadium. (Damn, I should’ve fought more for the ticket.) And then the printing blocks, and the huge ship of Cheng He’s legend of the Maritimes silk route. All are lays with the thousands of performers.




OK! Living the 3 millennia behind the astronaut brings the arrival of the 21st century with a touch on the LED screen and there comes the one culture that has continued from the ancient times.



Tai Chi, again over thousands performer performing the Tai chi, forming the symbol of the great circle of the heaven (universe) surrounding the square LED in the middle symbolizing the Earth. You could hear the shout of every performer throughout the stadium it’s totally stunning. I can’t imagine the craziness that’s going off in the mind of the London Olympics committee at the moment. One small touch is that the children now painting the parchment of huge water ink paint with color paint that signify the coming of modern times.


The performance again was performed with the volunteers, using the LED and lighting forming the shape flying dove, symbolizes peace and harmony, while Lang Lang, the most amazing pianist ever come out of China performing the modern orchestra now.
Then to complete the sets of the performance, the rises of the Globe, with people hanging on the 8 longitude of the earth signifying all walks of life, then appear 2 singers, A chines male opera and a british female operatic singer, Sarah Brightman, they sang the title song of this year Olympics in both Chinese and English, One World, One Family, which signify the real beginning of the games, the unity and the continuity of the Games from China to London.
With that comes more and more fireworks and the beginning of march of the Athlete. There is no fault in this opening and no doubt it is the most amazing ever. Combining the old and the modern. Aside from it all. How could you top the tradition of the Olympics that have continued for ages, to the lighting of the torch? The marching of the athlete was given a chance to add their touches to the same parchment by walking on colors they step on the bottom of the parchment forming the rainbow of the color of the Olympics and when the Athlete all entered the stadium, the parchment is turn into the natural and the immediate most creative stage ever, with every one’s present on the stage, literally speaking, signified by the parchment, the oath is taken on the same stage parchment. Then the singing of the national anthem of the republic of China by the young 9 year old child, harmonizes with every Chinese in the audience, in perfect harmony, including the president of the country. Singing with the proudest and max out voice they can. You’d be amazed by the site of the singing of over close to 90000 singing the same song as loud as then can.

Then comes of course the choir of Chinese children in the complete ethnics group of China singing in perfect Greeks is just awesome. Which reminded me of the scene I was in 4 years ago, when both National Anthem and the Games Anthem are sang in Greeks. It’s a totally perfect reflection of the vast spirit of the games from the western to the eastern, we unite under one roof and declares the greatness of the spirit of peace and harmony.
Then of course the entering of the torches. All the familiar faces of the world Chinese, the badminton player, the swimmer, the diver, the gymnast. So in the end how’s the torch is gonna light? And where is the torch? Will it topped the most exciting moment of Barcelona lighting of the torch with flaming arrow, or the Atlanta’s most heart warming lighting by Muhammad Ali, or the Sydney’s lighting of the flame under water? Nope, the Chinese don’t just signified, literally the sky is the limit this time, the flying man, suspended in mid air ran his last lap of the torch relay on the projection screen surrounding the stadium roof in a horizontal position, that projects the parchment of the list of every torch participants and the cities involves review on the screen while Li Ning, one of China’s most treasure Gymnast, run the whole length of the roof (the longest laps every ran by a torch bearer and of course the first ever laps ran with the bearer suspended in midair and on top of the audience on top of the stadium), and then at the end finally the revealing of the torch shape caldron. Li Ning lights the beginning of the lights with one small touch of his torch and a fire line that signifies the firing dragon rounded the body of the torch and lighting the top of it.




and that end the whole ceremony with the loudest Bang of all time that is lighten up through the length of the city from the stadium to the north and south of the city, announcing the beginning of the games and celebrates with everyone in and out of the stadium. and everyone in the audience is greeted with the performance from Jackie Chan and other Chinese performers to a concert.