Ceremony opens Beijing Olympics

Ceremony opens Beijing Olympics

China is hoping the Olympics will showcase three decades of progress

After seven years of preparation, billions of dollars of investment, and a mammoth effort to clean up Beijing's polluted skies, Chinese Olympics officials say they are staging one of the greatest Olympics ever.

The 29th summer games began at 8:08pm Beijing time on Friday – an auspicious time and date in Chinese culture which regards the number eight as lucky.

Details of the opening ceremony had been kept a closely guarded secret, but producers had promised a show that will "amaze the world".

IN DEPTH

"We have prepared for the Beijing Olympics for seven years and now we are ready ... we are very confident indeed that we will stage a successful Olympics," Sun Weide, spokesman for the organising committee, told reporters.

"Of course we hope that these will be a great games, even the greatest."

The day also saw thousands of Chinese couples getting married on one of the most auspicious dates in several years – 08/08/08.

"This day is very meaningful for us because finally the Olympics are here," groom Peng Zhonghua, 23, told Al Jazeera as he signed his wedding vows with his smiling bride at a central Beijing marriage bureau.

The couple said that like many Chinese they planned to spend the evening at home with their families watching the opening ceremony.

Authorities have urged Beijingers without one of the 91,000 tickets to the opening ceremony to watch it at home, rather than try to travel to the Olympic green in the north of the city.

In an effort to avoid congestion, officials announced earlier this week that Friday would be a public holiday.

Repression

More than 100 world leaders and senior government representatives, including George Bush, the US president, will be in the Bird's Nest National Stadium on Friday evening to watch opening ceremony.

Security is very tight in Beijing and other Olympic co-host cities [GALLO/GETTY]

Others attending include Russia's Vladimir Putin and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who dismissed calls from human rights groups to boycott the Beijing games.

On Thursday Bush, the first US president to attend an Olympics on foreign soil, delivered a blunt rebuke to China over its repression of dissidents and urged Beijing to grant its citizens greater freedom.

Bush has promised to raise the issue of human rights in meetings with China's leaders, but he is likely to tread a delicate diplomatic line, aware that China's leaders see the Olympics as their big moment.

More than 40 athletes due to compete in Beijing have signed a letter to Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, expressing their concern over the country's human rights record and small groups of protesters have also been making their presence felt in Beijing in the run up to the games.

Reforms

For China's government the hosting of the Olympics marks the opportunity to put the achievements of three decades of economic reforms in the global spotlight.

It has spent $43bn preparing for the Olympics and deployed a massive security operation to ensure the games present a flawless impression to the world.

Also in the crowd for Friday's ceremony will be dozens of CEOs from global business giants such as General Motors, Microsoft, McDonald's and Volkswagen – a reflection of the huge economic weight China carries in the world.

Despite the massive investment, worries over pollution remains one of the biggest question marks hanging over the games.

China has been plagued by criticisms over its human rights record [AFP]

On Friday a thick haze continued to lie over the Chinese capital, although it was unclear whether the low visibility was a result of pollution or from seasonal humidity and still climatic conditions.

Another worry for games organisers came in the form of a new video, apparently released by an armed group based in western China, threatening an attack on the Olympic games.

The video, attributed to a group known as Turkistan Islamic party, shows graphics of an explosion over a venue and a burning Olympics logo.

More than 100,000 security personnel are guarding Beijing and other Olympic co-host cities, anti-aircraft missiles have been put up near the National Stadium while military and police are on alert in other parts of the country.

In central Beijing the historic Tiananmen Square was closed off for much of the day as world leaders gathered for a Chinese government reception in the neighbouring Great Hall of the People.

The square was largely empty except for hundreds of paramilitary police, while dozens of plain-cothed security officers mingled with the crowds on nearby streets.

Authorities are expected to put on a spectacular fireworks display later on Friday, immediately after the Bird's Nest opening ceremony.

The stifling security measures introduced for the games have led a few critics to dub the event the Beijing Olympics the "no-fun games".

But Chinese officials say their top priority is to provide a safe and secure Olympics – and with the eyes of the world on Beijing, they are eager to put on a picture-perfect show.