Opening ceremony draws worldwide attention

Stunning display, UK press says

The British press spoke in praise of the spectacular Beijing Olympics opening ceremony unanimously, calling it the best ever and a stunning display of China's rising confidence.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), also ran live broadcasts of the opening ceremony on its BBC1 and BBC high definition channels.

Huw Edwards, who delivered the commentary with Sue Barker in Beijing, noted China's confidence.

A presenter with Eurosport hailed the Games as "bigger than anything imaginable", calling the ceremony an "extraordinary" and "extravagant" presentation.

The Financial Times said "the most certain victory of the Olympic Games was duly ratified on Friday night when China won the gold medal in the opening ceremony competition - presumably for all time".

The paper noted that no country in the world ever has - or will - match the Chinese in effort, human power, synchronicity, and ingenuity.

Calling it an enormous show and a gigantic event, the paper said the first triumph belonged to the evening's auteur Zhang Yimou, who insisted on traditional lines: nationalism with Chinese characteristics.

The Guardian displayed a photo captioned "Beijing Olympics take flight" showing the Bird's Nest being lit up by fireworks.

The Guardian said the ceremony that opened the 29th Olympic Games on Friday night outdid all of its predecessors in numbers, color, demonstrating to the world that the new China intends to make its presence felt.

The Daily Telegraph said: "China marches on to world stage." It published a photograph of hundreds of Chinese dancers wearing feather headdresses to represent the age of Confucius.

The paper said China had showed itself to the world leaders present in the stadium and to a television audience of billions.

The tabloid Daily Mail said Hollywood "will study the DVD of the performances for years to come and plunder Beijing's visual tricks".

Sharing in pride

The Chinese shared the Olympic pride as they watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.

In Beijing, locals and visitors braved stifling heat as they crowded parks and other designated viewing areas to see the opening ceremony, the paper said.

"They might not have tickets to the Games. They might never set foot inside the stadium. But wherever there was a TV screen, big or small, the people of Beijing on Friday gathered and cheered, soaking up this brief moment in the long history of this ancient capital when the Olympic flame illuminated the Chinese sky," the paper said.

Despite heat and the threat of a summer shower, locals poured into designated parks and viewing areas in Beijing, grandparents and babies in tow, some waiting hours for a foothold among the standing-room-only crowds of thousands, the paper said.

"I am so proud to be Chinese tonight," Ju Ke, a 19-year-old animation student who got a front row seat on the grass of Ditan Park before two giant monitors, was quoted as saying.

"China has made so much progress in recent years," he said. "Chinese culture is so amazing. The Olympics were hard-earned."

All the years of waiting and sacrifice seemed worth it when the Games finally began at that auspicious 8 minutes past 8 on the eighth day of the eight month in the eighth year past the second millennium, the paper said.

"They've probably been preparing for this day since Deng Xiaoping opened up China to the world," Nicholas Martelli, a Chinese language student from Italy, said. He also had waited hours to see the show on the big screen along with a group of visitors from Spain.

The US Miami Herald said "the Beijing Olympic organizers dazzled an audience of 91,000 at the whimsical Bird's Nest Stadium and another estimated 4 billion watching on television with a colorful, imaginative opening ceremony that bridged ancient and modern Chinese history."

The New York Times said on its website: "An ecstatic China, an ancient nation so determined to be a modern power, finally got its Olympic moment on Friday night ... the 2008 Beijing Olympics began with an opening ceremony of soaring fireworks, lavish spectacle and a celebration of Chinese culture and international good will."

The Wall Street Journal said on its website that the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games "is expected to attract 4 billion viewers, probably the largest number in Olympic history".

The World Journal said in an editorial the Beijing Olympic Games opened successfully, as wished by 1.3 billion Chinese people and overseas Chinese. It was a big day for China.

CNN, ABC and Yahoo also gave wide coverage to the opening ceremony.

Japanese front page news

In Japan, nearly all the major newspapers - Yomiuri Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, Tokyo Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun published news of the grand event on the front pages of their evening editions.

The state broadcaster NHK (Nihon Hoso Kyokai) televised live the entire ceremony.

Kyodo News and Jiji press, the two leading Japanese news agencies, continuously updated their news items about the event and released striking pictures of the performances at the ceremony.

"Tonight, the Bird's Nest was turned into a red sea of joy with smiling faces everywhere," Mainichi Shimbun said

To host the Olympics, which was a 100-year dream of the Chinese people, will speed up China's development toward maturity, Jiji press said.

Spaniards 'delighted'

The Spanish media was impressed and delighted with Friday's opening ceremony of the Games.

The spectacular event was seen live by around five million Spaniards, and was the main item of Friday evening's news bulletins.

Television channel Antena 3 described the ceremony as "an astonishing effort". While Cuatro called it "impressive".

Radio station Cadena COPE said it was "the most dramatic Olympic opening ceremony ever".

Television Espanola - the state-owned channel that holds the rights to screen the Olympics - featured an interview with Crown Prince Felipe, who is head of the Spanish delegation.

Prince Felipe said their Chinese hosts had made them feel "very welcome indeed", and that "we are hoping for a very strong Spanish performance here".

Spain is hoping to improve on its performance four years ago in Athens, where it won 19 medals.

Live TV broadcasts

In France, French TV channel France 2 televised live the opening ceremony with explanations of performances depicting China's history.

In South Korea, KBS, MBC and SBS TV stations also showed the opening ceremony live.

KBS invited a Chinese student in South Korea as a guest to explain to viewers performances at the opening ceremony, while MBC sent Chinese-speaking reporters to Beijing to cover the event.

In Thailand, TV commentators of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) lauded the opening ceremony, calling it "the most spectacular Olympics opening ever".

"Beautiful indeed," Thai TV anchors repeatedly said when seeing a central stage designed in the form of an ancient Chinese scroll with artists "dancing out" traditional Chinese paintings.

Canadians celebrate

About 5,000 people gathered outside a movie theater in Toronto early on Friday morning, hoping to watch the spectacular opening ceremony on the big screen in high-definition.

Although the show was not due to start until 8 am local time, many people, young and old, arrived at the Richmond Hill Center for the Performing Arts well before sunrise.

A year ago, the theater decided to show for free the opening ceremony because of the demand.

"When I arrived at 5:30 am, there were about 700 people here," Michael Grit, one of the organizers, said.

"The theater can only accommodate 3,700 people, so we had to turn about 1,000 people away," Grit said.

The audience was amazed at the dazzling performances, which they though not only demonstrated China's great ancient culture, but also its progress in modern science and technology.

"It was amazing - I liked it and I'm proud of it," said one young woman of Chinese origin.

In Vancouver, the event was televised at 5 am, but that did not deter viewers.

To celebrate the historical occasion, several government officials and Chinese embassy staff gathered at the City Hall in Ottawa to raise the Olympic flag.

"Beijing and Ottawa are sister cities, the flag-hoisting ceremony was meant not only to mark the opening of the Games, but also to express our best wishes for the friendship between the two cities," Ottawa mayor Larry O'Brien said.

Federal Environment Minister John Baird said: "The opening ceremony was stunningly spectacular. It's not something you see every day. It was an exciting occasion for Chinese and Canadians."

In Montreal's China town, hundreds gathered before a big screen to enjoy the show.

The Chinese communities in Vancouver and Ottawa have planned parties and parades in the coming days to celebrate their home country for hosting the Olympics for the first time.

Reception pleases Iraqis

Iraqis on Friday were happy to see their athletes at the opening ceremony of the 29th Beijing Olympics, and witness the spectacular event.

"Just as I had expected, the Chinese did not miss the opportunity to demonstrate the distinctive characteristics of their ancient culture," 55-year-old Adel Rasheed said.

"They not only evoked people's curiosity about China's history, but also showed their superiority in modern science and technology."

The Rasheed family shared the occasion with their neighbor Basim Ali, 54, in Baghdad's western district of Yarmouk.

Before the opening ceremony, they had got themselves a generator and enough fuel in case there should be a power failure. Baghdad suffers from a chronic power shortage.

"I wonder if the number eight that the Chinese believe brings good luck holds true for all people of the world," Rasheed said.

He was referring to the UN announcement on the very same day 20 years ago, which signaled the end of the devastating eight-year war between Iraq and Iran.

When popular singer Liu Huan, and British diva Sarah Brightman were about to start their duet of the Olympic theme song, Um Sameer, Basim's wife, took out her mobile phone and asked everyone to keep quiet.

"I recorded the song because I heard it would be performed by a Chinese and a British singer. I did not want to miss the opportunity. Now I can listen to it whenever I want," she said.

The Iraqi team's participation in the Games at one point was doubtful due to a dispute. Iraq eventually sent a very small team.

"I did not expect to see any of our top leaders at the stadium to welcome our athletes. But I was sure the Chinese people would give them a warm welcome," Muhammad Hussan, 20, said.

"I was not disappointed. When our team entered the stadium applause broke out. They were also cheered by the millions of Iraqis glued to their TVs at home," Hussan said.

Rasheed said: "I feel proud of our athletes. They are few in number, but they give me the sense that we are part of the world community, we are not alone. People do care about our sufferings."

Belgians give thumbs up

In Brussels, heart of the European Union (EU), overseas Chinese, along with dozens of Belgians, gathered before a big flat screen in a Chinese restaurant to watch the opening ceremony.

As one of nearly 4 billion viewers across the world, David Fouquet, director of the Brussels-based Asia Europe Project Information Service, said: "It was quite impressive. It would have been even more impressive if I could have been there rather than watching it on the screen."

Andre Puttemans, managing director of a business consultancy, said: "The opening ceremony was not a copy of the Western world. It was Chinese.

"I think the Chinese people have the right to be very proud of what they have achieved."

When the national flag of China was raised at the beginning of the ceremony, everyone in the restaurant stood up to show their respect and admiration, Puttemans said.

"In dealing with China over the last 22 years, I have seen great changes there. I think in spite of all the difficulties before the Games, my personal feeling is China has been evolving nicely," he said.

Bernard Dewit, chairman of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said the opening ceremony presented a modern and changing China.

"It was beautiful. The ceremony showed that China is a modern country," he said.

Dewit, a lawyer who published a book on Chinese business law in 1980s, said China's hosting of the Olympic Games marked a step forward for the emerging nation to be more open to the outside world.

"It will convince people that China is continuing with its opening up," Dewit said.

He said it was a good coincidence that this year China was also celebrating the 30th anniversary of its opening up policy, which was introduced by the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1978.

Dewit said the Games would definitely help promote China, which is already one of the world's most vibrant economies and promising markets.

(China Daily 08/10/2008 page11)