Amid pollution, protests and impressive pomp and circumstance, the curtains rose Friday on the XXIX Summer Olympics in Beijing. The four-hour opening ceremony at the 91000-seat Bird's Nest stadium was a gaily colored extravaganza punctuated by fireworks and festivities, including a guy-in-the-sky lighting of the Olympic flame. Gymnast Li Ning, who won three gold medals for China in 1984, was lifted by wires for the spectacle. He circled the Bird's Nest once, gliding through the air like a spacewalker. Then he used the torch to light the massive Olympic caldron. The ceremony will be shown on TV Friday night in the United States. The anticipated crowd around the world may make this the most-watched television event ever. The event, directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, drew on China's history and cultural heritage and displayed it all with high-tech wizardry. Fireworks, a Chinese invention, were set off in great waves, from within the Bird's Nest and from as far away as Tiananmen Square, several miles to the south. Country by country, athletes strolled around the stadium in hot, hazy weather. China's squad of more than 600 was led by NBA tower Yao Ming and a young boy who lived through the spring earthquake in Sichuan province. There were thousands of musicians and performers to delight the crowd. In Beijing, the long-anticipated day was greeted with joy and enthusiasm. Those lucky enough to secure tickets cheered long and hard for China's Olympic team, the last and <b>...</b>
Summer
Olympics
Open
With
Bang
In
Beijing
2008
news
sport
peking
olympia
china
eröffnungsfeier
winner
