The Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. Kevin Rudd is perhaps one of the first western leaders to be proficient in Mandarin Chinese having living in Beijing for a number of years when he worked at the Australian embassy.

“It is very important for our team on the eve of competition to have the prime minister present,” said AOC President John Coates.

“We are delighted Rudd will be with us in Beijing,” he said.

Several other leaders including Germany’s Angela Merkel, Poland’s Donald Tusk, and the Czech Republic’s President Václav Klaus have said they will not be attending the opening ceremony.