By Keen Zhang
China.org.cn columnist
Some photos courtesy of Chen Lin, who attended the Closing Ceremony
我的英文稿评论。附几张现场同事的照片,以及我周六去鸟巢的照片。
"The world has learned more about China and China has learned more about the world," said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge at the Games' Closing Ceremony staged in China's National Stadium in northern Beijing on Sunday night.
From a troublesome global torch relay, through the solidarity of worldwide Chinese people, a devastating Sichuan earthquake, and other natural disasters, to the highest-quality venues and some extraordinary Games performances, Rogge's remarks reflect how mutual understanding evolves and misunderstanding fades in a spirit of decency.
He eventually delivered a final verdict on the Beijing Games as "truly exceptional", rather than the traditional "the best ever".
But many around the world deemed them "the best ever". "I cried several times because it moved me so much, and I would like to personally thank the people of China for such a memorable event." Lynn Alexander, a reader of China.org.cn, wrote to us today.
After 16 glorious days in Beijing, the sports festivities finally came to an end with the people and the media reflecting on the legacy. Amid routinely lavish fireworks, the Closing Ceremony, though less spectacular than the Opening one, was still a creative feast for many.
The distinguished Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, also the General Director of both Opening and Closing Ceremonies, said in an interview that his focus had shifted from creating a masterpiece of performing art to making a carnival of the last night of the 29th Olympiad.
True. But the first section still resembled the dream-like Opening Ceremony, with fluorescent-suited performers, drummers, and dancers; with flying men performing and forming astoundingly beautiful shapes and circles under dramatic lighting and strobe effects. One element was perhaps lost to the television viewer: my colleague, Chen Lin, who was there last night, told me that the sound of silver bells ringing at the stadium was incredible.
Then came the delegations of all the participating nations, waving and smiling to the cheering crowds. When the Olympic flag was handed over by Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong to London Mayor Boris Johnson, one journey ended while a new odyssey began.
London also presented an 8-minute handover performance, seeking to showcase the historic image and the modern culture of the city around a traditional London-style red double-decker bus that transformed itself into a stage.
Legendary guitarist Jimmy Page and X-Factor winner Leona Lewis collaborated on the Led Zeppelin classic "Whole Lotta Love", a rare and exciting experience for hard-core rock and pop music-lovers. But the duo might have cause to worry about their profile in China – their performance left many Chinese people wondering who they were. Even a Beijing TV anchor later informed his audience that "Jimmy Page" was a former winner of the X-Factor talent show from the distant past. How amusing. Then LA Galaxy soccer star David Beckham's cameo added another climax to London's moment in the spotlight.
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The rim of the Bird's Nest displayed unforgettable images from the past 16 days, and the Flame died in the cauldron. Many wept in a thrill of emotion and would have held on to the moment a little longer. I myself was seated in this same stadium on Saturday night to watch Athletics finals like the Women's 1500m, Men's 5000m, and the Women's and Men's 4 x 400m Relays. The lack of Chinese athletes in track and field didn't lower people's passion and expectation. Many, though unable to distinguish the athletes from afar, and unable to identify the athletic celebrities, were there just to feel the Olympic pulse and atmosphere.
People clapped and cheered for whoever did best in competition; they commiserated with those who failed too. We stood up every time a national anthem was played, applauded and paid tribute to the winner. For those precious 16 days the interior of the stadium became a truly global family without borders.
Another huge tribute should be paid to the 1.47 million Olympic Volunteers in Beijing. In my opinion their efforts were phenomenal. Last night the IOC demonstrated that they share that view when for the first time in Olympic history they thanked 12 representatives of the volunteers with the presentation of a bouquet.
But so many of the hopes, dreams, tears, sweat, pride and hard graft have been invisible for the last seven years. A well-made documentary film, Dream Weaver, recorded the story of how a number of individuals and groups were preparing for Olympics, including a special police team, construction workers at the National Stadium, young gymnasts, sports icon Liu Xiang, and an ordinary family whose former home was on the very site of what is now the Bird's Nest. Beijing is changing fast. People met all of life's challenges to present their best face, or even just a warm smile, to the world.
The most dazzling and memorable section of the Closing Ceremony was the magical Memory Tower, built of 30 tons of steel and consisting of five stories of elevated structure. Performing artists swarmed over the tower and 16 long lucky cloud yarn strips were raised to the heavens. But rather than its initial idea, I saw it as some kind of Tower of Babel, a temporary symbol of united humanity together in the stadium.
This memorable scene preceded a rather anticlimactic finale, where flat and forgettable pop and folk songs were performed by pop stars like Chow Wah Kin, Liu Huan, Jackie Chan, Wei Wei and a number of other performers. With everything boiling up nicely in the expectation of a happy-ever-after mess of a party, the song The Flame of Love, performed by tenor Plácido Domingo and soprano Song Zuying and meant to be romantic and inspiring, was something of a disappointment in spite of the fascinating vocals and costumes.
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周六去鸟巢看比赛,拍摄的部分照片:
我的位置不好,只能从外面一个不好的角度透过障碍拍摄正在燃烧的奥运大火。
入场前。
啦啦啦拉队。
身边狂热的芬兰体育迷。据我观察,当天晚上座席上芬兰旗最多,因为那天有三个芬兰人参加了标枪决赛,最终他们得了一个铜牌。
男子4x100米周六晚上才开颁奖仪式,所以也幸运地远远瞻仰了“妖人”博尔特。
决赛开始!
老爷子也疯狂。
出来后,鸟巢的灯光夜景很美。
水立方也美,晶莹剔透。
最美的是以水立方为背景的音乐喷泉,水柱可以随着音乐跳舞,还可以变不少形状。好多大人和小孩都在里面戏水,全身湿透也不在乎。狂欢节嘛。
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