The Hindu : Sport : Games get off to a fantastic start

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Saturday, Aug 09, 2008
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Games get off to a fantastic start

Kamesh Srinivasan

Athens silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore proudly carries the National flag

BEIJING: “Isn’t it a real joy to have friends from afar,” Confucius had asked hundreds of years ago.

The Chinese opened their arms, with all their hearts, combining light, colour, music and dance, with modern technology, to provide a spectacular opening, befitting the country’s 5000 years of civilisation, to welcome athletes from 204 countries for the 29th Olympic Games.

It was 8 p.m. when fireworks lit up the sky, in a change from tradition to signal the start of the opening ceremony. In fact, fireworks enlivened the proceedings at every opportunity, rather than at the end, to mark the beginning of the celebration.

It was an entertainment meant for an estimated four billion television viewers around the world, and the Chinese rose to the occasion in superb fashion, to reassure mankind that they were ready to host the ‘Ultimate Games’.

The manner in which the ‘lighted’ acrobats, suspended mid-air, lifted up the Olympic ring, set the tone for a vibrant evening that had already entertained the 91,000 capacity audience to a grand Chinese cultural show during the prelude.

Unforgettable evening

The artistic director of the Opening Ceremony, Zhang Yimou, orchestrated 14,000 performers to light up an unforgettable evening.

Every event lit up the show as every performer was invariably colourfully ‘lighted’, to paint unforgettable pictures on the mosaic. Of course, white pervaded through the arena, as the Chinese reminded about their supreme skills and history of martial arts.

From the paper and painting, that characterised the Chinese characters showing graceful and beautiful forms, the projection moved to a celebration of the Chinese Opera and passed through the Silk routes, one across land through Central Asia to the Mediterranean, and the other through the seas by Zheng He, who sailed out of China as far as Africa’s West coast.

Moving on to the modern age, The Chinese cultural story reached the Chinese pianist Lang Lang who entertained along with five-year-old Li Muzi, while 2000 dancers formed the dove of peace, illuminated in shimmering colours.

Gutsy performance

Easily, the gutsiest performance was by nine-year-old Zhu Qiaoyan, who chased a kite through the air from one side of the stadium to the other, suspended on wires from the roofway above the stadium floor.

Athens Olympics silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore proudly carried the National flag, while the Indian athletes were a picture of joy. For the host, the towering basketballer Yao Ming did the honour, as he had done in Athens four years ago.

The TV camera was quite candid and captured Sonia Gandhi and George W. Bush, waving from the stands, when India and the U.S. marched.

“The time has come for the world’s best athletes, after years of hard training, sacrifice and determination, to give their very best, and to share with us and the entire world, exceptional performances and incredible efforts”, said President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge.

“The Olympic Games is a unique celebration, a moment when sport becomes, for all too short a period, the focus of the world’s attention. The Beijing Games, like all previous Games, will show the whole world, what the Games are: a great gathering of young people who share the same goals, the same passion and joy,” he said.

The President of China, Hu Jintao, reiterated the theme of the Beijing Games, ‘one world, one dream’.

“The Beijing Olympic Games is a grand celebration of sport for the world people including 1.3 billion Chinese citizens.

“The Chinese government and people, together with our friends from all over the world and the IOC, will stage a high level Olympic Games with distinguishing features.

“Our joint efforts will bring the Olympic Movement to new heights and make contributions to the noble cause of the development of mankind and world peace,” the Chinese President said.

Athens Games double gold medallist Zhang Yining, the 26-year-old table tennis star, took the oath of honour on behalf of the athletes.

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