No words can describe how spectacular the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony was last night. How I wish I was there to witness history in the making. The lightings, performances, fireworks & pyrotechnics were absolutely stunning. The beauty of the Beijing National Stadium aka Bird's Nest was simply breathtaking, imho the most uniquely designed stadium in Olympic history.
Photograph by Bullit Marquez/AP
The performances were filled with splashes of colour, depicting China's richness in history & culture. One of the best moments of the opening ceremony was the 1 minute countdown to 8.08pm, the official time for the opening. This is probably the first time the countdown was manually performed by thousands of men while incorporating the modern, state-of-the-art effects reminiscent of a digital countdown clock.
Photograph by Adam Pretty/Getty Images
As you can see here, the drummers are hitting their drums that illuminate light for the man-made countdown. What brilliant idea & awesomeness!
Photograph by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
There were lots more beautiful moments during the ceremony that it would take hours for me to put them here. I think what most ppl are looking forward to most which is the climax of the event - the lighting of the Olympic flame cauldron. Rumour has it that a panda will be igniting the cauldron. Not true! It would've been interesting, really. But it doesn't sound very realistic either reason being the panda is a rather timid creature. Giving that poor little creature the huge responsibility to officiate the event means the organisers are asking for trouble. Here's the fact: Li Ning, Olympic gold medalist for artistic gymnastics was selected as the last torchbearer, suspended mid-air & running around the upper lip of the Bird's Nest while images of past torchbearers from around the world were projected on the walls.
Photograph by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Now that China has set a benchmark for such an extravagant event, I can't wait to see how she lives up to it for the closing ceremony. And it looks like the Chinese athletes are in the head start of the medal tally, battling the Americans. This is definitely the most exciting Games I've ever seen.
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