At the 2008 Opening Ceremony, the Olympic Rings begin to take shape.
By Philip Barker
Very soon, the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing will become the first to stage Opening Ceremonies for both Summer and Winter Games.
Although director Zhang Yimou has promised that the Olympic cauldron will be lit in “unprecedented” fashion, many will wonder whether it will prove possible to outdo 2008.
Zhang himself insists “it is totally innovative and people will be surprised.”
The moment 14 years ago when gymnast Li Ning soared towards the heavens to light the Olympic fire high above the stadium remains truly unforgettable.
Friday August 8th, 2008 was the date that the Games officially began. The date had been carefully chosen because the number eight is auspicious in China.
15,000 took part in a show which began with 2008 performers beating a rhythm in unison on traditional “Fou” drums.
“The rhythm of light conveys the concept of time. A great moment is forthcoming,” said an official guide to the Ceremony.
Then “29 colossal footprints appear across the city towards the Olympic park in a series of firework explosions.”
As the final footprint burst into life, it triggered a fusillade of pyrotechnics above the stadium.
As the trail descended, Olympic Rings, each ten metres in diameter, appeared on the floor of the stadium. These were elevated in a three-dimensional display of 45,000 LED beads.
The execution of the manoeuvre was flawless.
As the Chinese flag arrived, a performance of the Chinese patriotic song “Hymn to the Motherland” caused some controversy when it emerged that the girl who appeared to sing it had been lip-synching.
Yet Luciano Pavarotti had done the same thing at the Opening Ceremony for Turin 2006.
The stadium had been constructed to accommodate a huge stage with a vast area under the stage. It was claimed to be the first stadium designed with an Olympic Ceremony specifically in mind.
The first major set piece was entitled “Painting Scroll,” to demonstrate the role of calligraphy and printing in the culture of the host nation, as dancers described ancient Chinese characters on the stadium floor.
This was followed by a percussion piece featuring Chinese Opera and a “festive scene” depicting the Terracotta soldiers.
Performers also created a symbolic version of a giant temple complete with columns; a sequence of the Chinese martial art Taijiquan; a representation of the ancient silk route, complete with sailing Junks; a dove of peace was created by performers who also built a bird’s nest, reminiscent of the stadium itself. The remarkable visual light changes were created with the use of more LED costumes.
Star pianist Lang Lang played the “Yellow River Concerto,” joined by five-year-old child prodigy Li Muzi.
A huge globe provided a symbolic climax to the show before the entry of the teams. At the top, Chinese singer Liu Huan was joined by Sarah Brightman to sing the haunting official song “You and Me.”
“We warned her she would have to climb an earth eight stories high.” Zhang said.
The words were “You and Me, from one world, we are family.”
There was one further surprise, placards with thousands of smiling faces of children from across the world were displayed by volunteers.
The images had been collected by the Organising Committee over the previous year.
The parade of nations was the longest yet seen. 204nations took part before Chinese leader Hu Jintao officially opened the Games.
The Olympic flag was then raised to the strains of the Olympic anthem, sung in Greek in a tour de force by the choir of Chinese schoolchildren.
Shooter Xu Haifeng, China’s first gold medallist at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, was the first into the stadium with the Torch after its epic and controversial journey.
He was followed by a succession of other great Chinese champions, before at last the Relay reached the central stage. Li Ning, winner of three gymnastics gold medals in 1984, was swept upwards on a giant trapeze towards the roof of the stadium as the song “You and Me” was reprised.
Finally, Li lit a taper and the cauldron burst into life high above the spectators.
“This is a glorious but huge task for anyone,” Li said afterwards.
“I did not want to let down the dream of millions of Chinese people and that is why I was nervous,” he admitted.
Afterwards an exhausted Zhang admitted that directing an Olympic Ceremony was “much more nerve wracking than a movie. We had one goal, to show the world an excellent opening ceremony. We did that!”
The show had been made for a television audience and was clearly intended to give the best possible impression.
It came in the wake of considerable agitation about the host nation’s record on human rights.
The cast for Beijing 2022 is anticipated to be only a fifth of the size of that in 2008, there seems little doubt that the event on February 4th will be very special, though certainly a little colder than that in 2008.
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