2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

The 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest". [http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/headlines/n214582074.shtml Full Coverage: The Closing Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games] – "The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (en.beijing2008.cn) (August 24, 2008)" (Retrieved on August 24, 2008)] It was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time (UTC+8) on August 24, 2008. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture.cite web |url=http://afgen.com/china8.html |title=The Number Eight And The Chinese |accessdate=2007-04-22]

The musical acts included:

* Chinese mainland singer Wei Wei and Sun Nan
* British singer Leona Lewis, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page (with football player David Beckham making an appearance) and Elspeth Hanson as the violinist .
* Hong Kong singers Andy Lau, Emil Chau, Jackie Chan, Karen Mok, Kelly Chen, Joey Yung and Nicolas Tse.
* Chinese American singer Wang Lee Hom, Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun and South Korean entertainer Rain.
* Han Hong

The Ceremony also included the handover of the games from Beijing to London. Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing handed over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and there was a performance organized by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

While the opening ceremony was described as an artistic and serious introduction of China's ancient past, the closing ceremony was described by Western media as "much more lighthearted", "silly" and "fun" than the opening ceremony. [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/sports/olympics/25beijing.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin|title=Olympics Close With a Bang and a Double-Decker Bus|publisher="New York Times"|date=2008-08-25] [cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-olyplaschke25-2008aug25,0,7796513.column?page=1|title=China engages in revelry at Olympics' closing ceremony|publisher="Los Angeles Times"|date=2008-08-05]

By the end of the 16 days of NBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics in the United States, it had also become the most-watched U.S. television event of all time,cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i67f2ad037eba0dd6eb8488ef3d2d5377|title=Beijing Games most-watched U.S. TV event|publisher="Hollywood Reporter"|date=2008-08-24|accessdate=2008-08-24] with over 211 million viewers tuned in to the Olympics on NBC according to the Nielsen Media Research; this is 2 million more than the 1996 Atlanta Games, the previous all-time record-holder.

Attending heads of state and dignitaries

The closing ceremony was attended by many heads of state and dignitaries including Chinese President Hu Jintao, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Anne, Princess Royal, Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme, Prime Minister of Lithuania Gediminas Kirkilas, Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis, Mongolian Prime Minister Sanj Bayar, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Nepali Prime Minister Prachanda, Australian Governor-General Michael Jeffery, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. [http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90783/91300/6485085.html] [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-08/25/content_6966999.htm]

Sequence of events

*Fireworks prelude, including a firework countdown above the National Stadium itself, at 8:00PM CST.
*Introduction of IOC members and Hu Jintao.
*Raising of the Chinese national flag, to the Chinese national anthem, March of the Volunteers.
*Mass games performance by a troupe of drummers.
*Orange sparkling fireworks.
*Performers in translucent costumes, bocking stilts and some riding on illuminated monowheels.
*Flag bearers enter the stadium.
*Athletes enter the stadium.
*Athletes gather in the stadium, with drumming throughout the precession.
*Presentation of the final men's marathon medals; including the national anthem of Kenya: "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu", for the gold medallist Samuel Wanjiru.
*Presentation of flowers to twelve volunteers by newly elected athlete representatives to the IOC Athlete Commission.
*Raising of the Greek national flag, to the Greek national anthem, Hymn to Liberty.
*Welcoming of the President of the BOCOG, Liu Qi, and the IOC President, Jacques Rogge.
*Speech by Liu Qi in Mandarin Chinese, concluding by thanking everyone.
*Speech by the IOC President, Jacques Rogge, in English, French and concluding in Mandarin, declaring the Beijing Games "truly exceptional". He closes the Games, and bids (in French) for "the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in London".
*Raising of the Union Flag, to the national anthem of the United Kingdom, "God Save the Queen" in a specially commissioned version by Philip Sheppard.
*Lowering of the Olympic Flag and singing of the Olympic Anthem. The Olympic flag will be raised again at the next Winter Olympic games in Vancouver; opening ceremony there scheduled for February 12, 2010.
*Fireworks representing the Olympic rings.
*Returning of the Olympic Flag by the Mayor of Beijing Guo Jinlong to Jacques Rogge, in turn presenting it to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
*Eight minutes of presentation of the 2012 London Olympics.
**A British modern cultural performance, involving a double-decker bus, bicycles and commuters, to a score entitled 'This is London' by Philip Sheppard recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.
** 10 year-old Tayyiba Dudhwala steps out of the Double Decker bus in front of the crowd and receives a ball from a Chinese girl, then walks onto people to return back to the bus. .
**Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page perform "Whole Lotta Love".
**Appearance by David Beckham. Beckham then kicked a ceremonial football into the rows of volunteers.
*Procession of performers on an airport terminal staircase, with events during the 2008 Olympics on-screen.
*Extinguishing of the Olympic Flame, following a recitation of the 16 days of Olympic competition and of the Ancient Greek competition.
*Performers on a tall pillar (called the memory tower), waving arms and symbolising the Olympic flame, eternally unextinguished. Performers group to form Chrysanthemums, with hurdle runners on top of the pillar. Performers then reclimb the pillar, which is then covered in huge red streamers. Roses are formed along with athletes below (with pillar as a stigma), the athlete crowds as petals. Red streamers are levitated upward and reveal the performers arranged in the form of Dancing Beijing, the 2008 Olympic logo.
*Fireworks.
*Song "Beijing Beijing, I Love Beijing" (Běijīng Běijīng, Wǒ Ài Běijīng) by Hong Kong singer Kelly Chen, Han Xue, Chinese-American singer Wang Lee Hom and Korean singer Rain. Erhu instrumental; acrobats leap from the tower by wire.
*Soprano group singing of Chinese folk song "The Moon is Bright Tonight".
*Opera tenor Plácido Domingo and Chinese singer Song Zuying sing "Ài de Huǒyàn (The Flame of Love)" (composed by Bian Liunian and Klaus Badelt). [ [http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/beijing_olympics/story/0,27313,24234672-5017607,00.html Curtain closes on unforgettable Beijing Games] ] [ [http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/90867/6485497.html Domingo and Chinese singer Song perform together at Beijing Olympics closing] ] [ [http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/photos/closingceremony/carnival/n214584160.shtml Beijing 2008: Singers Domingo and Song perform] ]
*Song "Tomorrow's World".
*Song "Please Stay, Guests from Afar" led by Chinese stars such as Wei Wei, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Karen Mok, Joey Yung, Emil Chau and many other singers along with many others representing the 56 ethnic groups of modern China.
*Song "Surpass It"
*Fireworks, pyrotechnics, and ethnic dancing.
*Farewells.
*Conclusion of ceremony at 9:55 pm CST.

References

See also

*2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

External links

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