The Beijing Olympic Games closed on Sunday, as China passed on the flame to London.
Former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch was in the habit of describing each Games as “the best ever”, with the notable exception of Atlanta in 1996.
His successor Jacques Rogge does not go in for such superlatives. He described Athens in 2004 as “unforgettable, dream Games” and on Sunday he pronounced the verdict on Beijing, saying they had provided “an exceptional Games”.
Perhaps that was a fitting phrase for an Olympics that began with an opening ceremony on an unparalleled scale and went on to provide highlights that will live on in the memory of all of us.
American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight gold medals, with a little help from his friends on the relay team, to break the record of seven at a single Games, achieved by Mark Spitz in 1972. Usain Bolt took the breath from all of us in the Bird’s Nest stadium when he won the 100 and 200 metres, breaking the world record in each.
Matthias Steiner broke our hearts by offering up his weightlifting gold to the wife he lost in a car crash, while Matt Emmons made us all gasp when for the second Olympics in succession he blew a certain gold medal with a ridiculous mistake on his final shot.
But were they the best Games ever? China provided us with a wonderful experience at and away from the venues and I will never forget the friendliness of the legions of volunteers, and the ordinary Chinese people too.
One thing that did get me after a while is that this was a Games that was taken extremely seriously, by everyone (apart from Usain Bolt).
Faster, Higher, Stronger goes the Olympic motto, and China seemed determined to host a Games with those goals in mind. They did it too, but I sometimes longed for an Eric the Eel in the pool, or even a cock-up in the organisation, just to prove that not even the Chinese are perfect when it comes to running a big event.
The short segment given to London 2012 during the closing ceremony promised a much more modest scale and perhaps a touch of irony and self-deprecation, what with the umbrellas and a double decker bus. I almost expected Austin Powers to come somersaulting out.
For now, though, let’s focus on China. The Games were brilliant, but were they the best ever? Please let us know in the comments.
PHOTO: Fireworks explode during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium, August 24, 2008. REUTERS/Claro Cortes
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Best ever.
- Posted by ElaineNot really. Let’s see, dopping, China cheating w/babies being passed off as 16 years old. Oh and did I say doping? Shall I cover the Eastern Sports, Judo/Karate/ more cheating… and did I mention China’s cheating with babies. Oh and yeah, the China government shutting down websites, especially those that exposed them for who and what they are? Oh and did I mention China cheating with babies.
Games were okay…. best ever no way…. OIC needs to get a handle, a grip, what ever it takes…. soon no one will take the Olympics seriously. Unless China is looking to host the games again ASAP, in that case ….
- Posted by Annett FordThe Olympics are a huge event. In this age of tech why isn’t there more coverage. For those of us who have to work it would be nice to have TV and web coverage of every event. Like a Net Flix or Pay For View for every minute of every event. Choices void of time slot for replays should be made available. At least a highlight reel. Maybe 2012? I hope so.
- Posted by KevinABeing an American, I was a bit disappointed that the US didn’t win the gold medal count. But you know what, you have to tip your hat off to China. The Chinese athletes were amazing-performing up to the expectations of an entire nation. China also put on an amazing show and she deserves the praises from all around the world. No nation is perfect and we often point fingers at others when we are also guilty of our own shortcomings. I hope the rest of the world will have a better understanding and appreciation for China and her people. I sure do now.
- Posted by Megan[...] Beijing 2008: Were these the best Games ever?Reuters India, India - 2 hours agoPHOTO: Fireworks explode during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium, August 24, 2008. REUTERS/Claro Cortes.Beijing Games 2008 come to a close Radio AustraliaPictures of 2008 Olympics Closing Ceremony Thaindian.comThe Lessons of the Beijing Olympics TIME Cinema Blend - Canada.com all 135 news articles [...]
- Posted by Beijing 2008: Were these the best Games ever? - Reuters IndiaI can’t say whether these are the greatest Games ever, but certainly for me they are the greatest that I have witnessed in my life, surpassing the excellent Barcelona Games of 1992.
- Posted by JimThe success of these Olympics is made even more poignant given the fact that there was always a vocal element of the Western media who tried to derail the spirit of the Olympics simply because they were being held in the nominally communist China.
For me, there was never any need for this attitude. The Chinese government never made the Olympics about politics. Instead they put on a great stage for athletes to compete, as they were supposed to do so, and I commend them for their efforts.
Thank you China. Thank you Beijing.
Yes! For me it was one of the best Olympics.. if not the very best. The broadcasters should think about upgrading though. I heard some very dissatisfying, not to mention ignorant commenters talking over performances of athletes. And like “Mr. Mick” said (although I don’t agree with the rest of his message), a lot of “unimportant” (less popular) events were not shown and replaced with the more popular ones.. The sheer effort put into it was amazing.
- Posted by ArineFrom TV watching point of view
I was not particularly paying attention or looking foward to the olympics it definitely caught my attention.
Fascinating Performances -thanks to Usain Bolt, the doctor of all doctors, the king of all kings.
Architcture of venues-The birds nest and water cube were smartly designed.
And the Chinese seem dedicated and well prepared, put their best foot foward
- Posted by D_KittyKatIt’s absolute the best Olympics ever! It’s a lot of fun and most notably athletes are treated most graciously! Good job China!
- Posted by HWBest ever? No way! Athens was better. And no fake fireworks in the opening ceremonies.
- Posted by Kibblesin my opinion i think the olympics this year was amazing! definitely in my opinion the best games ive seen! but as many people say every city has something special.
- Posted by amybut from my opinion it was the best, although there are problems with the chinese govt. but thats got nothing to do with the people and politics shoudlnt be involved as the olympic games should be an event of the world coming together!
No doubts the best games ever!!! I actually watched almost all of the games. Bravo for Beijing olympics 08!
- Posted by cindyI really enjoyed them and I felt a bit part of them by writing on the blogs.
- Posted by lauderThe worst games ever. More corruption and lack of objectivity than I have ever seen before. IOC can’t tell the difference between athletics and opera. Is the Bolshoi ballet coming to London? In the States, we saw no Judo, Tae Kwan Do, shooting, archery, shot put, javelin, hammer throw, discus…you know, the traditional Olympic field events. No coverage at all. But we got to see young girls prance about like divas. What a load of codswallop.
- Posted by Mr. MickFor me it was one of the best Olympics ever, apart from the Sydney games 8 years ago. The Chinese open ceremony was fantastic. I do not think London 2012 can even touch Beijing 2008. SO well done to China… I watched nearly every event….
- Posted by MarcelExcellent!!
It was definitely the most memorable. If one was to examine what it takes to host an olympic one has to give credit the the chinese and the olympic organizers. They did a remarkable job. The venues and ceremonies will never be matched. In all accounts this was the most successful olympic ever because of the challengese faced by China. Some were real such as infrastructure, terroism, and polution but some were artificial-created by a small group of people who wanted to hijack this wonderful gathering of citizens of the world to server their own agenda. Whatever biased opinion bloggers and so called journalist writes, the one thing that stands true is the passion of the Chinese people to stage a monumental event and hopefully show the world what the media seldom shows-that the China is not a nation to be feared but a nation yearning to be respected. A nation of 1.3 billion people can teach the world a thing or two.
- Posted by ConnorIn addition, you have conducted these games at a such high standards, future future games may have tough time matching it. Superb, Superb. I and my family enjpyed all events and enjoyed learning about China in nothing but positive light. Our hats off to the people of china.
- Posted by Chalama ReddyThe greatest games ever. China-you are a great country. Please make Tibet independent as a good gesture. The world will view you with high respect.
- Posted by Chalama ReddySummer games this time, definitely,were one of the best ones. What I don’t understand is that why we(westerners) are coming up with different kind of allegations against China, it’s not like only Europeans and Americans and my be Japanese are the only ones who can host it perfectly, there are many issues that come up and are ignored whenever the games were organized in WEST, but I never heard any comments made by people from western hemisphere. These games far better than those that were hosted in Sydney or Athens and were better organized. (BTW I am a Proud American, but just can’t stand this indirect racism and racist feelings.)
- Posted by samCelebration of Olympics Bronzes
What happened?
How can we lose gold count to China, a third world country?
Let’s have a national holiday of mourning. No one objects I bet!
Let’s have a national contest of the best excuses of winning so less gold medals.
It has to be the BEST, so it could worth a gold in this category.
What to do?
Borrow more money from China to buy foreign coaches…
No Speedo to Australia and China.
My secret weapon is to import 8 Jamaican runners. Money talks!
Bribe the judges (a little harder as everyone hates us but money talks again).
Change all the rules to our favor: 5 medals for basketball, 1 for table tennis, 0 for diving…
All tiebreakers must go our way as our sponsors own the Olympics.
We will amplify their “shortcomings” like copying our advance lip sing technique (how dare you’re), small size advantage, large size advantage, working too hard…
The Chinese must have put slippery jell on our batons and/or the gym apparatus.
Develop a dope that can take out all dope traces from our body so we take it before dope tests.
“One country, all medals” is our new Olympics slogan.
The more wishfully we think, the closer we succeed.
How to heal now, really?
Write to Dear Abby for starter.
Bronze is the same as gold if not better. If you do not believe me, ask any blind person.
It is harder to get a bronze as we have to LET two others to win.
We’ll train our athletes for the bronze from now on.
We will ask NBC to interview bronze winners only as they are the real winners.
Actually we’ll be happier to be #3 and build a better relationship with other nations. Stop laughing. It is a fact!!!
Phelps, we love you more with 8 bronze medals - it is no easy job to let 2 and ONLY 2 pass you 8 times.
If everything does not work, turn ugly.
Ask McDonald’s and KFC to give away their “food” (better than opium) to China FREE, so their next generation will be so fat that they cannot walk to the subway station.
Send soldiers to grab the medals, esp. gold. Hey, we have the best offense.
Will the world be better if we only fought for gold medals only (bronze medals in our case)?
What an Olympic spirit to celebrate the winning of the bronze!
– The author is Tony Pow. 8/22/08. Created for fun. No politics. No dumb nationalism. No ego. 90% false, 10% true. 100% fun. Hope no offense to you. Please feel free to distribute/change… —
- Posted by TonyPow