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The last day (24-8-08) of the 17-day Olympic festival witnessed a spectacular closing ceremony began at 8:00pm China Standard Time (UTC+8), and took place at the Beijing National Stadium.
Fireworks at 18 locations across the vast city spread the festive spirit and thousands of youthful dancers draped in red on one side and silver on the other seemed to suggest the dramatic economic changes that have taken place in China.
The musical acts included: British singer Leona Lewis and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page (with football player David Beckham making an appearance) Hong Kong singers Andy Lau, Jackie Chan, Kelly Chen and Joey Yung Chinese American singer Wang Lee Hom and South Korean entertainer Rain Han Hong. The Ceremony also included the handover of the games from Beijing to London. Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing handed over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and there was a performance organized by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG).
The closing ceremony was more of a lighthearted show than the opening ceremony Aug. 8, which focused heavily on Chinese history. Spanish tenor Placido Domingo graced the stage in a duet with Chinese star soprano Song Zuying on Sunday as well as a display by 350 practitioners from a Bejiing martial arts school and an ensemble of 60 players of the erhu. A Chinese string instrument lured the audience.
London, host of the 2012 Olympics, performed an eight-minute dance show during the ceremony. Somewhere in the middle of the closing-day celebrations appeared a red London bus that sailed through the teaming crowd of colourful dancers. As the bus stopped, an Indian-looking girl emerged out of it.
Receiving her were dozens of London dancers that container fewer white faces and more brown and black ones. London mayor Boris Johnson, who received the Olympic flag from his Beijing counterpart Guo Jinlong, seemed to suggest he was aiming at racial cordiality as one of the goals of the 2012 Games in his city instead of merely staging a sporting event.
The new Chinese leadership under president Hu Jintao clearly surpassed the pomp and glory of China's imperialistic dynasties including the pageantries shown in Chinese cinema using computer-crafted images. In this case, the thousands of dancers were real and acting over a massive stadium that holds 1,500 meter relays.
Beijing's Olympic organizers did more than present a stupendous programme that beats the imagination. They involved the audience in the celebration giving each of the 90,000 crowd goodies bag containing battery-operated Olympic torches and flags to wave.
The audience responded with gusto in what appeared to be an Olympic version of democracy. A sea of orange flags and red lights from audience galleries gave an altogether new dimension to the programme.
Olympic Medal Standing
Gold Silver Bronze Total
1. China 51 21 28 100
2. United States 36 38 36 110
3. Russian Fed 23 21 28 72
Striking Record
Michael Phelps: completing his goal of winning eight (8) gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and establishing himself as the greatest swimmer in Olympic Games history. He not only surpassed Mark Spitz's 36-year old record for the most gold medals in a single Olympics but amassed the most number of golds by any individual in the Games' history.
China has welcomed the sports lovers around the world and showed their warm hospitality and the stunning closing ceremony will leave a lasting impression on everyone while China hands over the games to London.
For the participants and spectators its time to set for homelands, some will be checking out with glory and some with the better hopes for the next game, its time to bid adieu to everyone, Zai Jian!
By: Shabina Sanad
GOWEALTHY.COM © 2008
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