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Aug 08, 2008 : The Beijing Olympic Games will open today with a spectacular opening ceremony, ushering in 16 days of competition.
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Over the coming weeks, more than 10,500 of the best international athletes will compete for the 302 gold medals up for grabs in 28 events.
The Games of the 24th Olympiad, being held in China for the first time, will officially open at 8.08pm local time (1.08pm BST) on the eighty day of the eighth month of 2008. In China the number of eight is often associated with good fortune.
Beijing Olympic officials have said that fireworks of different shapes will be set off over the main Bird's Nest stadium, the Olympic Forest Park and a section of the Great Wall.
Outside the capital, Qingdao will hold the sailing competition, Hong Kong will be the location for the equestrian events, and football will be played in Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao.
The closing ceremony will bring down the curtain on August 24 before the Paralympic Games take over from September 6-17.
The Games' slogan of One World, One Dream is intended to capture China's aspirations to open its doors to the world through the event and leave a lasting legacy for their population of 1.3 billion people.
But while the communist nation's economy has made huge strides thanks to its manufacturing industry, the country continues to suffer from poverty in rural areas, high levels of pollution and criticism of its human rights record.
Protests during the torch relay and critical words by world leaders, such as US president George Bush, have characterised the build-up.
Overnight, after opening the new multi-million pound US embassy in Beijing and praising Sino-US relations, Mr Bush again criticised China's record on human rights, saying: "We strongly believe societies which allow the free expression of ideas tend to be the most prosperous and the most peaceful."
Two British Free Tibet campaigners returned to the UK yesterday after being arrested for unfurling flags and banners outside the Beijing stadium.
More than 40 Olympic athletes have signed an open letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao condemning the country's human rights record.
Backed by Amnesty International in Germany, the letter calls on Hu "to protect freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of opinion in your country, including Tibet".
More protests are planned during the Games, including one at the Chinese Embassy in London today.
With environmental concerns also high on the international agenda, China has come under fire for its pollution problems.
The nation's eyes will be on British stars as they go for gold.
Team GB consists of more than 300 British competitors who are hoping their performances give them a solid footing for success at the 2012 Games in London.
UK Sport has set its sights on 41 medals for a chance to achieve an overall target of 8th place in the medal table.
British medal hopes suffered a setback just before the Games with the withdrawal of boxer Frankie Gavin but, over the coming days, attention will be focused on stars such as Paula Radcliffe, Tom Daley and Kelly Sotherton as they run, dive and jump for glory.
Source : http://uk.news.yahoo.com/skynews/20080808/twl-beijing-olympics-to-start-today-3fd0ae9.html
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