The 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and began at 20:00 China Standard Time (UTC+8) on Sunday night, 24 August 2008. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture.
The musical acts included
Plácido Domingo and Song Zuying singing The Flame of Love (lyrics by writers Song Xiaoming and Yuan Yuan) Wei Wei and Sun Nan singing Beijing Beijing (wo ai Beijing). Leona Lewis, Jimmy Page (with David Beckham making an appearance), Elspeth Hanson as the violinist and Kwesi Edman as the cellist. Andy Lau, Emil Chau, Jackie Chan, Karen Mok, Kelly Chen, Joey Yung and Nicolas Tse. Wang Lee Hom, Stefanie Sun and Rain. Han Hong Klaus Badelt wrote the music for the closing ceremonies.
The Ceremony also 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. There was also a performance organized by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG).
While the opening ceremony was described as an artistic and serious introduction of China's ancient past, the closing ceremony was described by Western media as "much more lighthearted", "silly" and "fun" than the opening ceremony.
By the end of the 16 days of NBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics in the United States, it had also become the most-watched U.S. television event of all time, with over 211 million American viewers tuned into the Olympics on NBC according to the Nielsen Media Research; this is 2 million more than the 1996 Atlanta Games, the previous all-time record-holder.
Sequence of events
Opening
Sequence
People's Liberation Army Navy Band performance Welcome March song and Introduction of IOC members and China's leader Hu Jintao. Fireworks prelude, including a firework countdown above the National Stadium itself at 20:00 CST. The flag of the People's Republic of China was raised, to the Chinese national anthem, March of the Volunteers. Mass games performance by a troupe of drummers. Orange sparkling fireworks. Performers in translucent costumes, bocking stilts and some riding on illuminated monowheels.
Synopsis
Chinese leader Hu Jintao entered the stadium, accompanied by Jacques Rogge. They were followed by the entrance of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife, Sarah. The countdown started from "29", indicating the 29th Summer Olympics. From "29" to "11", highlights of this Olympic Games were shown with countdown numbers on the screen. Accompanied by sound effects, the atmosphere reached its climax countdown to number digital millennium terminator. Guided by volunteers the entire audience counted down from 10 together for 10 seconds to starting at 19:59:50 China Standard Time at the country and sky above the stadium is the same as the countdown to the 2008 Beijing Paralympic opening ceremony from "10" to "1" with all voice screaming as "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" or "Shi!!!, Jiu!!!, Ba!!!, Qi!!!, Liu!!!, Wu!!!, Si!!!, San!!! Er!!!, Yi!!!" is used to release large-scale fireworks above the stadium to the Games and herald the start of the officially opening time at 20:00:00 China Standard Time with the fireworks burst immediately when the countdown ended, forming a great circle in the sky which symbolized the success of the Beijing Olympic Games. The countdown were also used during the opening ceremony 16 days earlier by 2,008 PLA members. The PLAGF Honor Guard Soldiers prepared the national flag of China. The soldiers then carried the flag, in a slow, goose-stepping march, to the flag podium and the Chinese national anthem, March of the Volunteers, was sung by a 224-member choir while the flag was unfurled and raised.