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THERE are very few occasions when the eyes of the world turn, almost as one, to a single location. That’s what makes attending any Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games one of the world’s great travel experiences. To be there when billions are tuning in to watch; when you are standing in an astonishing new structure that has stretched the limits of architectural and engineering possibilities; when you can look across and see the President of Russia sitting a few feet away from the Presidents of the USA, China, France and almost every world leader you can think of; when the very pride and honour of the host country are at stake; then you are watching history. The latter - the pride and honour of China - was overwhelming on this night. It filled every single moment. I could see it written on the face of the young Chinese student sitting next to me, as the national team passed by just a few feet away from us. He leapt to his feet and roared in unison with about 90,000 others, ‘Jia You, Jia You’. Go! Go!

All About China


More than any other Olympic Opening Ceremony, this event was all about the host country: what China has become, what it will be in the future and what that means for the rest of us. It became the subject of tens of thousands of news articles and millions of blog posts with endless shades of opinion. This Opening Ceremony crystallised all of that, condensed it into four hours of jaw-dropping visual spectacle. Media reports of a singer miming or ‘fake’ fireworks completely missed the point. No one in the Bird’s Nest stadium that night could fail to be impressed (awed?) by China’s showcase for the world. One had the sense of an unstoppable force, the progression of China to ultimate world economic superpower. I would guess that’s exactly what the country’s leaders intended to convey!

Worm's Eye View


We were seated just a few rows from the front, a grasshopper’s view of the Bird’s Nest. As a result, we couldn’t see the amazing visuals which unfolded on the electronic scroll (above) throughout the night. But what we lost there we more than gained by being so close to the performers, their amazing routines and epic sets. It’s hard to pick out one as more outstanding as the others; but watching good old Sarah Brightman and Chinese star Liu Huan standing on top of an enormous orange ball (top) belting out the kitschy 2008 Olympic Anthem, ‘You and Me’ was both moving and amusing. How did they get her up there and back down again? She must have been on wires.

Parade of Stars


The big spectacle of the Opening Ceremony lasted about an hour and a half. Then it was the turn of the athletes to parade around the stadium. It took a full two hours for every single team, from Aruba to Zambia to troop past. The world-leader filled VIP section started to thin out, with only hardy souls like Mr and Mrs Bush enduring most of it. Once again, it turned out to be an advantage to be just a few seats away from the track, as we could almost reach out and touch the athletes. The highlights were, of course, the home team led by the truly gargantuan basketball hero Yao Ming; our own British lads and lasses on their way to the most successful games for 100 years; and the long red, white and blue trail of the Americans - clearly super confident but very much in the shade of the Chinese from the kick-off. My personal favourite was seeing Roger Federer, (above), the greatest tennis player ever, clearly very happy to be leading his own little Swiss side round the Bird’s Nest.

Saving the Best for Last


Just when we thought there couldn’t possibly be more nations in the world with Olympic teams, all of the athletes fell into formation in the centre of the field for the passing and lighting of the torch. This was the same torch that had lit the fuse of so many political controversies as it passed through different parts of the world. In the Bird’s Nest, all of that sound and fury melted away as a succession of distinguished Chinese past Olympic stars passed the torch round the stadium until it reached 1984 gymnastics legend Li Ning, who was suddenly elevated by wires to the high wall of the Bird’s Nest, above the spectators, and proceeded to ‘space walk’ all the way round to the massive Olympic torch, which he lit from a fuse a few metres away (below).

The verdict


This wasn’t just a spectacular show, it was a part of world history, and we both felt very privileged to be there. Before, I would never have considered the Olympics to be one of the world’s great travel experiences, but I was 100% wrong about that. I will be booking my tickets for the London 2012 Opening Ceremony as soon as they become available. Of course, there is no way we can match Beijing 2008 for its dazzling grandeur and technical excellence. And the folding double decker with David Beckham inside which appeared at the Closing Ceremony didn’t exactly inspire optimism for 2012. But I feel reasonably confident we will put on a show which can also capture the world’s attention for a couple of hours, perhaps with typical British understatement, subtlety and wit.

How we got there
We flew from London Heathrow to Beijing on Austrian Airlines, who demonstrated once again that they have one of the best business class products of any European airline. The on-board chef is worth her weight in gold! All of our Olympic experience was booked through Sportsworld, the official UK travel agency for The Games. We stayed at the Sofitel Wanda hotel in Beijing, where the service was simply outstanding.

Our ratings for Travel & Accomodation
1-5 stars
 
Austrian Airlines
****
Tour Operator - Sportsworld
****                                                                 
Hotel - Sofitel Wanda
*****                                             
Location - Beijing
*****