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2008 Summer Olympics
| Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |
| Host city | Beijing, China |
|---|---|
| Nations participating | 205 NOCs |
| Athletes participating | 10,500 (approx.)[1] |
| Events | 302 in 28 sports |
| Opening ceremony | August 8 |
| Closing ceremony | August 24 |
| Officially opened by | President Hu Jintao |
| Athlete's Oath | Zhang Yining |
| Judge's Oath | Huang Liping |
| Olympic Torch | Li Ning |
| Stadium | Beijing National Stadium |
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, were celebrated in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24. The opening ceremony began at 08:08:08 pm CST (12:08:08 UTC) at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, People's Republic of China. During the games, 10,500 athletes competed in 302 events in 28 sports. This is one event more than what was on the schedule of the 2004 games.
The Olympic games were awarded to Beijing after a vote of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 13 2001. The official logo of the games, titled "Dancing Beijing," features a stylised calligraphic character jīng (京, meaning capital), meaning the host city. The mascots of Beijing 2008 are the five Fuwa, each representing both a colour of the Olympic rings and a symbol of Chinese culture. The Olympic slogan, One World, One Dream, calls upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit. Several new NOCs have also been recognised by the IOC.
The Chinese government used the games to promote China as an important and powerful country, and spent a lot of money on building new facilities and transportation systems for the games.[2][3] The events were held in 37 places, including 12 newly-built buildings. In 2007, former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch said that he thinks that the Beijing games will be "the best in Olympic history".[4] Although there was been some controversy about having the games in China, the IOC's former president Jacques Rogge said that the IOC has "absolutely no regrets" in choosing Beijing to host the 2008 games.[5]
Medal table
At the end of the Olympics, China won the total gold medal count, while the United States led the grand total medal count.[6]
Here is the top of the medal table at the end of the games.[6]
Medal numbers shown in bold are the highest in their section. China, the host nation is highlighted in lavender.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  China (CHN) |
51 | 21 | 28 | 100 |
| 2 |  United States (USA) |
36 | 38 | 36 | 110 |
| 3 |  Russia (RUS) |
23 | 21 | 28 | 72 |
| 4 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
19 | 13 | 15 | 47 |
| 5 |  Germany (GER) |
16 | 10 | 15 | 41 |
| 6 |  Australia (AUS) |
14 | 15 | 17 | 46 |
| 7 |  South Korea (KOR) |
13 | 10 | 8 | 31 |
| 8 |  Japan (JPN) |
9 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| 9 |  Italy (ITA) |
8 | 10 | 10 | 28 |
| 10 |  France (FRA) |
7 | 16 | 17 | 40 |
References
- ↑ "6th Coordination Commission Visit To Begin Tomorrow". International Olympic Committee. http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/beijing/full_story_uk.asp?id=1805. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
- ↑ "China's coming out party". Toronto Star. August 2007. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Olympics/article/242172.
- ↑ "2008-The Year of China?". BusinessCenter.TV. 2007-08-07. http://www.webcastr.com/videos/travel_leisure/2008-the-year-of-china.html. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
- ↑ "Beijing 2008 will be best-ever Games: Samaranch". BOCOG. 2007-06-25. http://en.beijing2008.cn/culture/festivals/exhibition/n214101234.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ↑ Abrahamson, Alan (2008-08-02). ""Absolutely no regrets" in coming to China, IOC president says". NBC. http://www.nbcolympics.com/blogs/blog=alanabrahamsonsblog/postid=163687.html. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Official Olympics Games medal table Retrieved 18:00 (UTC), 31/08/08 Archived 5 August 2009 at WebCite
 Olympic Games
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Summer Games: 1896, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, (1916), 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028 | ||
| Winter Games: 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 | ||
| Athens 2004 — Turin 2006 — Beijing 2008 — Vancouver 2010 — London 2012 — Sochi 2014 — Rio 2016 — Pyeongchang 2018 — Tokyo 2020 Games in italics will be held in the future, and those in (brackets) were cancelled because of war. See also: Ancient Olympic Games | ||
| Youth Olympic Games
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|---|---|---|
| Summer Games: 2010, 2014, 2018 | ||
| Winter Games: 2012, 2016 | ||
| Singapore 2010 — Innsbruck 2012 — Nanjing 2014 | ||
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