Matthias Steiner of Germany was the men’s +105kg weightlifting champion on Tuesday. When I first saw the picture, I thought of how romantic this guy was… I only knew a day later that the woman in the picture was his wife Susann, who died in a car accident last year, and it sparked plenty of emotions…
Matthias with his gold medal and a photo of his late wife (Image via Beijing2008)
This will probably be the most memorable Beijing Olympics’ photo for me… it draws love, sadness, romance, pride, commitment and loyalty. If I am a woman I would probably fall in love with this guy.
Besides “You and Me” the official theme song, there are a dozen of two other theme songs that are endorsed by the Beijing Games organiser. I have shared “Beijing Welcomes You” and “Olympics in Beijing” previously; here are a few more that’s worth mentioning…
Sun Nan & Zhang Hui Mei - Forever Friends
“Forever Friends” (永远的朋友), composed by Italian composer Giorgio Moroder and Chinese pianist Kong Xiangdong. The English lyrics are helped by Michael Kunze, while Chinese lyrics by Huang Xiaosheng.
This is my favourite candidate for the official theme song. Moroder, having wrote the popular “Hand in Hand” (theme song for Seoul Olympics 1988), certainly understand what makes a good theme song. It might not be the nicest song among all, but I think it’s the best that fits the occasion.
Sharing here is the Chinese version sang by Chinese singer Sun Nan and Taiwanese star Zhang Hui Mei; the English version is sang by Sun Nan and Hong Kong singer Coco Lee…
Visa Olympics commercial, featuring Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan, with Chinese basketball star Yao Ming having a cameo role in the end.
This is one of the earliest TV commercials related to the Beijing Games; started showing in late 2006 if not mistaken. Video below is the full version of the commercial…
Music video of “Smile Again”, a song from I L♥ve Asia project by Korean celebrities to raise funds for Sichuan earthquake victims in China.
The song is produced by Korean singer-producer JYP in collaboration with Chinese superstar Jackie Chan; participating celebs include Jo Sung-mo, Park Yong-ha, Gan Mi-yeon, Chae Yeon, Kim Yuna, Han Ji-hye, Wonder Girls, Lee Jung-hyun, Kim Dong-wan, Kim Ah-joong, Shin Hye-sung, Kim Tae-hee, Han Hye-jin, Jeon Hye-bin, Jang Nara, Battle, Brown Eyed Girls and J-Lim etc.
Over 500 Chinese artists joined hands in a fundraising concert on June 1 in Hong Kong and managed to collect close to HK$35 millions (~ USD4.5mil) for the Chinese quake victims.
The 8-hour-marathon-concert was initiated by Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau as part of the “Artistes 512″ fund raising campaign, and was participated by artists from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, including big names like Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, Leon Lai, Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung, Jay Chou, A-mei, Kelly Chen, Sammi Cheng, Lin Chi Ling, Sun Nan and Ritchie Ren etc.
Hundreds of artists took part in the concert (Image from Xinhuanet)
International star Jackie Chan and Korean actress Choi Ji-woo have been chosen as honorary ambassadors of Hallyuwood, a Korean entertainment based theme park in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
Both Jackie and Choi attended the ground breaking ceremony on May 29, alongside some other famous stars like Kim Yun-jin, Kim Ah-jong and Jewelry etc.
Malay version for one of the Beijing Olympic theme songs, sang by mostly Malaysian artists and a few from Indonesia and Singapore. [Hat tip to Quachee]
Among the singers are Michael Wong, Daniel Lee, David Arumugam, Ning Baizura, Gary Chaw, Dayang Nurfaizah, Maya Karin, Penny Tai, Faizal Tahir and Jaclyn Victor etc.
Official song for the 100-days countdown (April 30) to Beijing Olympic 2008, titled “Beijing Welcomes You” and sang by dozens of pop stars and celebrities.
The song is written by Xiao Ke and lyric by Lin Xi. Featured artist include Stefanie Sun, Wang Lee Hom, Wakin Chau, Gigi Leung, Jackie Chan, Richie Ren, Jolin Tsai, Huang Xiaoming, Han Geng, Karen Mok, Eason Chan, Jang Nara, JJ Lin, Joey Yung, Li Yuchun, Chen Kun, Nicholas Tse, Vivian Hsu, Lin Chi Ling, FIR and 5566 etc.
