2008 Olympics opening ceremony
The 2008 Olympics opening ceremony is less than 22 hours away as I write this. Here is a preview of what we can expect.
The opening ceremony will start at exactly 08:08:08 on August the 8th. Eight is a lucky number in Chinese meaning wealth or fortune.
The ceremony was leaked by a South Korean news crew and put on YouTube but later taken down due to copyright issues.
Chinese director Zhang Yimou is directing the event. Steven Spielberg was to act in a consulting role but later pulled out over his concern for China’s involvement in Darfur.
Sarah Brightman and Chinese singer Liu Huan are expected to perform in the opening ceremony. Gillian Chung was to perform in the opening ceremony but was later replaced after she was involved in a sex photo scandal with Edison Chen.
The air is a still an issue with the sky constantly hazy, which could be an issue for the fireworks. 29,000 fireworks will be used during the opening ceremony.
Lopez Lomong has been chosen to lead the United States team into the stadium. Lopez Lomong was a refugee from Sudan before he migrated to the United States. Yao Ming who is the tallest player in the NBA will lead the Chinese team.
The ceremony is expected to go for three and a half hours and cost $300 million.
There is a 41 per cent chance of rain during the ceremony, but Chinese might fire rockets into the sky to prevent rain. The Birds Nest stadium was originally designed to have a retractable roof, but was later scrapped because of budget issues.
The Australian athletic team has banned its athletes from participating in the opening ceremony because of pollution concerns.
South and North Korea will be marching separately into the stadium.
As to who and how the torch will be lit remains a state secret. One rumor says that it will be lit Harry Potter style, by a golden phoenix.
Here is a sample program of the opening ceremony.
North Korean dictator is expected to attend the opening ceremony and due to his fear of flying he will be taking a train from the North Korean capital Pyongyang through to Beijing. He will be attending along with President George Bush, but it’s not yet confirmed the two will sit next to each other.
Heard a great 30-minute interview of the director, producer, creative guru on CCTV today. He is from Greece and flooded the venue there 4 years ago.
Expect a big play with water.
Loved his quote that ‘grand’ does not need to be ‘long.’ Brief is good. Perhaps he’ll be over-ruled.
Also, to him, who and how the culdron is put to fire is not a big deal. That is meaningless. Rather there is much more to focus upon with more importance. I agree. Just have the small torch go and light the darn flame.
Wonder if it can be seen from the village? Or, what about the top row.
If it is a green games — is it a green flame?
Good Write up man.
Very informative. Keep Writing.. will be needing news from your side from now on. Thanks
I have watched that interview of Dimitris Papanouxxx(forgot the spelling), who directed the Athens opening in 2004. I totally agree with what he said, especially with his emphasis on simplicity. A good ceremony should have, among others, something for the audience to “learn”. And I did learn something about Greece and its history and ideology from the magnificent and classy performance. I enjoyed the CCTV interview except the interviewer often cut Dimitris short.
Zhang Yimou is an artisitc man and I love his movies, but he is more a painter/ photographer. Being a Chinese, I wish he will do a good show for the world to enjoy, not just a spectacular show, but also intellectual and touching, which I hope can communciate something deeper than just the culture and thriving economy of China.
I also agree that the lighting of the cauldron should not be too complicted. Just light it the simplest way in solemnity would be good enough. That is the a ritual, not a show point.
I thought Sarah Brightman is going to sing
Interesting writing. We’d need this blog to keep in touch - especially when we’re on the move.
Keep up the good work
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