Index The Olympic Emblem Introducing Olympics 2008 History The Olympic Oath Bid Venue Torch Relay Beijing National Stadium Opening Ceremony Closing Ceremony Bharat ke Teen Ratna

THE OLYMPIC EMBLEM

Every emblem of the Olympics tells a story. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games emblem "Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing" is filled with Beijing's hospitality and hopes, and carries the city's commitment to the world

Introducing Olympics 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officially

known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from August 8 to August 24 2008. A total of 10,500 athletes competed in 302 events in 28 sports, one event more than was on the schedule of the 2004 Games.

The official logo of the Games, titled "Dancing Beijing”referring to the host city.The 2008 Olympics was the third time the Olympics had taken place on the Asian continent.

The Games saw 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records set.A record 87 countries won a medal during the Games.

Chinese athletes won 51 gold medals altogether, the second largest haul by a national team in a modern, non-boycotted Summer Games.

Michael Phelps broke the record for most golds in one Olympics and for most career gold medals for an Olympian. Usain Bolt secured the traditional title "World's Fastest Man" by setting new world records in the 100m and 200m dashes.

HISTORYA call for an oath was announced as early as 1906 by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president and founder Pierre de Coubertin in the Revue Olympique.This was done in an effort to ensure fairness and impartiality.The Olympic Oath was first taken at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp by a fencer/water polo player. The first judge's oath was taken at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.

The Olympic Oath is taken by one athlete and one judge at the opening ceremonies of each Olympic Games. It was spoken in Greek at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and in Italian at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

“In the name of all the competitors I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams.”

THE OLYMPIC OATH

The judge, also from the host nation, likewise holds a corner of the flag but takes a slightly different oath:

“In the name of all the judges and officials, I promise that we shall officiate in these Olympic Games with complete impartiality, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them in the true spirit of sportsmanship.”

BIDBeijing was elected the host city on July 13, 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, defeating Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka. Prior to the session, five other cities (Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and Seville) submitted bids to the IOC but failed to make the short list in 2000. After the first round of voting, Beijing held a significant lead over the other four candidates. Osaka received only six votes and was eliminated. In the second round, Beijing was supported by an absolute majority of voters, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds.

VENUE

By May 2007, construction of all 31 Beijing-based Olympic Games venues had begun. Some events were held outside Beijing, namely football in Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Tianjin. Some venues will be owned and governed by the State General Administration of Sports, which will use them after the Olympics as facilities for all future national sports teams and events.

TORCH RELAYThe design of the Olympic Torch is based on traditional scrolls and uses a traditional Chinese design known as the "Propitious Clouds. The torch relay was called a "public relations disaster" for China by The Times, with protests of China's human rights record, particularly about Tibet.The relay began March 24, 2008, in Olympia, Greece. From there, it traveled across Greece to Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, and then to Beijing, arriving on March 31.

BEIJING NATIONAL STADIUM

The centrepiece of the 2008 Summer Olympics is the Beijing National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird's Nest because of its nest-like skeletal structure.Construction of the venue began on December 24, 2003. The stadium features a lattice-like steel outer skeleton around the the concrete stadium bowl and has a seating capacity of over 90,000 people. Architects originally described the overall design as resembling a bird nest with an immense ocular opening with a retractable roof over the stadium.

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time on August 8 2008.The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture, and here it was a triple eight for the date.

It opened with the beating of Fou drums for the countdown.The official song of the 2008 Olympics was performed by Britain's Sarah Brightman and China's Liu Huan, and was titled You and Me, on a large spinning rendition of the globe.

The 2008 Olympics saw the return of 28 sports some of which, athletics, aquatics, gymnastics and cycling, were divided into multiple disciplines and held 302 events (165 men’s events, 127 women's events, and 10 mixed events.

Overall, 9 new events were held, which included 2 from the new cycling discipline of BMX. Women competed in the 3000 m steeplechase for the first time.

In addition, marathon open water swimming events for men and women, over the distance of 10 kilometres, were added to the swimming discipline.

The following were the 28 sports to be contested at these Games (the four aquatic disciplines are also specified).

Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing,Canoeing,Cycling,Equestrian Fencing,Field hockey,Football,Judo,Modern,pentathlon,Rowing,Sailing,Shooting,Softbal,Tabletennis,Taekwondo,Tennis,Triathlon,Volleyball,Weightlifting,Wrestling.etc.

The Beijing Organising Committee was given special dispensation by the IOC to run a wushu competition in parallel to the Games. The Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008 saw 128 athletes from 43 countries participate, with medals awarded in 15 separate disciplines.

Closing Ceremony

The 2008 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony concluded the Beijing Games on August 24, 2008. It began at 8:00pm China Standard Time , and took place at the Beijing National Stadium.

The Ceremony 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, followed by a performance organized by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

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