26-year-old Liu Yan, a renowned Chinese classical dancers, was supposed to be one of the stars at the Olympics opening cerremony… but lady luck was not on her side, as she was badly injured during a rehearsal on July 27.
The opening ceremony directors visiting Liu in hospital (Image via Sina)
Liu was rushed to the hospital after falling from a three metre stage. Her spine was badly injured, and her lower body paralysed. It’s feared that she might not be able to walk again without assistance. Best wishes from us here.
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…
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.
Women soccer game, Germany vs Brazil, ended 0-0 (Image from Xinhuanet)
