Breathtaking! Awesome! Unprecedented! And may I also add, ghostly?
The much awaited US$100 million show at the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony was worth the wait. The scenes I saw on the TV was surreal. The wave of surprises kept sweeping at me and I wondered how I have sustained the 4 hours of gluing to the goggle box. I was truly amazed and I even attempted to steal some pride.
5000 years of Chinese history was cleverly presented to the whole world through grand scale choreography involving thousands of performers. The fusion of ancient Chinese art and modern technology gave me a twin shot of nostalgia and progress. Great imagination!
204 countries coming together from the five continents across four oceans（五大洲， 四大洋）, calling upon the whole world to join the Olympics spirit and build a better future of humanity. One World, One Dream. 同一个世界 同一个梦想. A thoughtful touch of humanity was demonstrated when the 9-year old boy hero at the Sichuan quake was invited to walk alongside national hero, Yao Ming, during the contingent march.
The fireworks display was generous and I would even say, extravagant. Burst of colours spreading from within to the outside of the Bird nest Stadium, lighting up the twisted frames wrapping the new Chinese icon.
The torch relay started in March 08 in Greece and thousands of torchbearers carried it around the world through many problematic legs. It was brought to a closure at the opening ceremony and so was the suspense on who would be the chosen one to run the last leg. In fact, when the famous Chinese gymnast Li Ning received the torch from the 2nd last runner, he did not continue the run. He flew. He carried the torch and glided around the stadium before lighting up the giant torch with an explosive stunt. Simply amazing!
Throughout the rather long show, I stayed mesmerized. Utterly fascinated by the spectacular display of the much feared Chinese power. Millions of people around the world watched the show. I can't say if they share the same pride as the 1.4 billion Chinese but I know they must have altered their perception towards the rising dragon.
Interestingly, the 5 mascots were no where to be seen. Is it because they were 'accused' of bringing the series of bad luck to the host??北京欢迎你!
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Other Olympics Stories:
From The Ancient Greece To The Middle Kingdom
The Gold Rush and The Medal Drought
The Human Sailfish
Will You Eat That Humble Pie?
The Human Race To Infinity
We Have A Date in 2012
The Real Fighters In Sports
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