What to Expect at the Opening Ceremonies
August 7, 2008 by Sandy Mitchell
Filed under Sports Rumors
The Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics will be held tomorrow night at the Olympic Stadium, and although many components are being kept secret (such as the final torch bearer), much is known about the festivities.
The date and the time are symbolic. Eight is a lucky number in China. Hence, August 8, 2008 at 8:08:08 pm is about as lucky as you can get. The ceremony is expected to last about 3 1/2 hours.
Entertainers will include Britain’s Sarah Brightman (of “Phantom of the Opera” fame), Canada’s Celine Dion, and Taiwan’s Jay Chou.
Among the 104 foreign dignitaries attending the event are US President George W. Bush, Princess Haya of Jordan, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Russian President Vladmir Putin, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and N Korean leader Kim Jong II.
As for the procession of athletes, the Australians are skipping the event due to concerns over the air quality in Beijing; basketball star Yao Ming will carry the Chinese flag; and Sudanese refugee-now US citizen and long-distance runner, Lopez Lomong will carry the US banner.
The order of the activities follows a rigid agenda set up by the International Olympic Committee. Mike, who blogs at 08:08:08, was kind enough to post a copy of it.
This article on the Vancouver 2010 site, a group that’s already hard at work on their own opening ceremony preparations, offers additional insight on what goes into producing an Olympic Opening Ceremony.
