Some random stuff about Beijing Olympics…
Bush is happy
US president George W Bush visited the US women’s beach volleyball team on August 9 during their training session. It was a happy visit obviously…
Day 2 of Beijing Olympics; some random news and information…
First gold medals
Katerina Emmons from Czech
The Chinese didn’t get the first gold medal of the 2008 Olympic Games as hoped… the honour belongs to Kateřina Emmons of Czech Republic in the women’s 10m air rifle event.
The Chinese’s disappointment didn’t stand long as weightlifter Chen Xiexia captured the first gold for the country in the women’s 48kg class weightlifting event moments later.
LEGO Sport City
An exhibition is currently running at Grand Century Place in Hong Kong with the major Beijing Olympics venues being recreated in LEGO.
So, what do you think about the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Friday night? It’s a decent show for me; not great, but nice.
The ceremony started off well. The fou (the drum like instrument) performance managed to draw the crowds’ attention, the giant footsteps’ fireworks were cool, and the countdown managed to boost the mood very well.
Then came the splendid fireworks, followed by the formalities of flag raising and national anthem singing.
The masterpiece of the show was revealed after that… the giant paper scroll, which was quite captivating at first. The initial performances still managed to keep me in front on the TV, but things started to turn boring for a few reasons…
Music video for “You and Me”, the Beijing Olympics official theme song which was revealed at the opening ceremony on Friday night, sang by Chinese singer Liu Huan and British singer Sarah Brightman…
To be honest, the song is just ok. Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman did well, but the song doesn’t really appeal for me. I like the lyrics, but the music is too soft and lack the ‘wow’ factor.
A few more hours to go before the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics. Some random news and information about Olympics and happenings in Beijing…
2008-08-08 8.08pm
The number ‘8′ is seen as a symbol of prosperity for Chinese. The Beijing organisers are optimising their wish for prosperity to the max obviously… by running the opening ceremony on 8.08pm, on the 8th of August, 2008.
Renowned director Zhang Yimou and choreographer Zhang Jigang are the co-directors for tonight’s show at the Beijing National Stadium.
It’s still a mystery on who will light the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony. It’s heavily rumoured that gymnastic legend Li Ning will take the honour; we’ll see how true the speculations are.
Another day to go before the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics. Some random news and information about Olympics and happenings in Beijing…
The game has started
The women’s soccer tournament of the Beijing Olympics kicked off at 17:00 Beijing time on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony. It’s common for soccer (and some other team sports) to start the games earlier.
Chinese singer Liu Huan and British soprano Sarah Brightman will jointly present the theme song of the Beijing Olympic Games at the opening ceremony on Friday.
Liu Huan is an iconic singer in China; it’s not surprising that he is picked to sing the theme song. I am a bit surprised that Sarah Brightman is chosen though… as I think China have a pool of local talents that can perform quite as well.
Regardless, I like Sarah Brightman, so I’m not complaining much. This will be her second time singing the Olympics theme song; her first performance was in Barcelona 1992 with José Carreras, with Amigos Para Siempre (Friends for Life)…
The official theme song for Beijing Olympics is still a secret and will make its debut at the opening ceremony. There are a few popular non-official theme songs though, e.g. “Beijing Welcomes You” and “Beijing Olympics” etc.
Update - the official theme song revealed; check out other theme songs as well.
The Beijing National Aquatics Centre, popularly known as the Water Cube, will host the swimming, diving and synchronised swimming events during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
