Beijing 2008 - Beckham kicks off 2012 countdown

Eurosport - Mon, 25 Aug 07:58:00 2008

China unveiled an extravagant farewell to the Olympics as David Beckham made an appearance to start the countdown to London 2012.

Beijing 2008 David Beckham closing ceremony - 0

Beckham was unveiled on top of a red double-decker bus that unfolded into a hedge-clipped silhouette of London, sending 91,000 fans wild in the Bird's Nest.

He booted a ball from the bus into the hands of a delighted Games volunteer.

The London segment was woven into a spectacular closing ceremony that wrapped up a £23 billion Games designed to showcase China's might, modernity and sporting prowess.

A ring of fireworks exploded round the rim of the stadium. Two giant drums were hoisted into the sky with two pairs of suspended drummers thumping out a hypnotic beat.

The stadium was turned into a kaleidscope of glittering colours with 200 acrobats taking giant leaps and somersaulting across a stage on spring-heeled stilts.

Launching a huge party to wrap up the greatest sporting show on earth, thousands of athletes poured in from all four corners of the stadium, blowing kisses and waving flags.

The towering figure of Chinese basketball player Yao Ming was seen grinning from ear to ear.

Beckham, brought up in east London, hailed Beijing's success but told Reuters before the ceremony: "I'm sure we will be better than them, without a doubt."

Britain's eight-minute chance to tell the world what the London Games would offer the world in 2012 featured guitarist Jimmy Page, who launched into the riff from "Whole Lotta Love".

He was joined in the Led Zeppelin classic by TV talent show winner and chart-topping singer Leona Lewis.

Queen Elizabeth also sanctioned a choral version of British national anthem 'God Save The Queen' backed by lush string arrangements.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, his normally dishevelled blond hair carefully coiffed for the occasion, took over the Olympic Flag and waved it proudly, especially after Britain's best gold medal performance for a century.

"This is a short, sharp shock that fires the starting gun for London," said organiser Martin Green who rehearsed the British show for two weeks at a private airfield outside Beijing.

Reuters

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  1. Well said Mr. Roberts! Dont know what to laugh more at­ - the tacky 8 minutes of rubbish the UK
put­ on in Beijing or the smug comments on here about how­ “At least we are
free..” Last time I looked­ the UK was the most watched (CCTV) nation­ on
earth and we have a government that has­ used fear and hate to strip us of
freedoms on­ a daily basis. The only difference between the UK and­ China is
that they wasted billions more than­ we can afford to- but Im sure we’ll
waste as­ much as we can. But freedom?? Dont make me­ laugh!　　
　&a­ mp;#12288;

    From Jason, on Thu 28 Aug 11:57PM

  2. MORRIS DANCING, FREE FISH & CHIPS.. STRAWBERRIES­ AND CREAM AND A WICKER MAN FOR THE FINALE!! NOW THAT IS­ KEEPING IT LOCAL AND AFFORDABLE..

    I WILL NOT BENEFIT­ FROM THE OLYMPICS.. I AM NOT A HOTELIER, CATERING VAN­ OR A TOUR BUS OPERATOR.. I DO NOT WANT TO PAY­ ADDITIONAL TAXES FOR A FORTNIGHT FROLLICK IN EAST­ LONDON WHERE I OR MY CHIDLREN WILL NOT USE THE­ FACILITITES

    From lizzie.boyle, on Tue 26 Aug 9:55AM

  3. your rubbish

    From Andrea, on Mon 25 Aug 8:53PM

  4. I think Boris is great! He's a complete legend, he­ acts the way he does because he doesn't see why­ being into politics instantly means you have to be like­ gordon brown...who's dress sense is terrible! and­ he's still nose picking at his age!
    Boris is fun­ and if you listen to the "gaffes" he makes­ you'll realise that he's joking and using his­ status has "dim" [and believe me he's­ not!] to say things that other politicians wouldn't­ get away with, but when he says it people go oh its­ just boris! You wouldn't believe it but he knows­ what he's doing!
    Anyways the olympic games in­ London shouldn't have to be a tight knit and­ expensive show like china, we should show the world­ that we are going to think about the worlds financial­ climate at the moment and most importantly think about­ bringing the olympic games back down to earth and make­ it about the sport once again!
    and whats wrong with­ having a bit of oasis, maybe even try and get Paul­ Mcartney in on the act! Now that would be MINT!

    From Katie, on Mon 25 Aug 7:30PM

  5. Oh, and well said Pablo - spoken like a true Brit.

    From bowesey17, on Mon 25 Aug 4:40PM

  6. Go Boris!

    From bowesey17, on Mon 25 Aug 4:39PM

  7. Ryan who? He's a chimp. Beckham may not have been­ the best footballer in the world, but he was up there,­ or he wouldn't have ben playing for some of the top­ teams in the world. The point is - like it or not -­ he's now a global brand.... and THAT is why he was­ at the Olympics. Be thankful we've (GB) got someone­ the Chinese recognise.

    From bowesey17, on Mon 25 Aug 4:38PM

  8. We are the next in spot. We have to work very hard for­ London, and, do the best. We have to be very proud­ about the election of London, and do all for the United­ Kingdom. God save the Queen.

    From pablo.pamato, on Mon 25 Aug 4:08PM

  9. Who is Beckham but an overpaid footballer that cannot­ score in the world cup. Why should he be given a­ spotlight with sportspeople that have had no financial­ backing as him? He is just a moron like his wife. A­ leech to sport. If you want an ambasador then look no­ further than Ryan Giggs.

    From dave, on Mon 25 Aug 4:01PM

  10. Who is Beckham but an overpaid footballer that cannot­ score in the world cup. Why should he be given a­ spotlight with sportspeople that have had no financial­ backing as him? He is just a moron like his wife. A­ leech to sport. If you want an ambasador then look no­ further than Ryan Giggs.

    From dave, on Mon 25 Aug 3:59PM

  11. its the london olympics.why should it be any different­ with the games?they grab everything while the rest of­ the country is left out.the councils erecting screens­ can stick them where the monkey sticks his nuts.i will­ go fishing,all interest for me has gone.besidesi hope­ they warn people about the street crime.

    From KENNETH M, on Mon 25 Aug 3:55PM

  12. Who is Beckham but an overpaid footballer that cannot­ score in the world cup. Why should he be given a­ spotlight with sportspeople that have had no financial­ backing as him? He is just a moron like his wife. A­ leech to sport. If you want an ambasador then look no­ further than Ryan Giggs.

    From dave, on Mon 25 Aug 3:55PM

  13. Hey Marilue20, it gets better. I didn't actually­ put it in my post but the Spice Girls was my first­ reaction in terms of Musical Greatness Internationally.­ Of course there are many many more and they are taste­ dependant (or not in the case of Leona Lewis). I dont­ expect everyone will agree but one good thing is that­ these threads can actually take place. Im sure such­ openess in China is not so easy. I dont agree with­ Jillypoo who suggested it was a good thing that Leona­ Lewis sells albums even in the poorest parts of the­ world. Who does that benefit? Or about the success of­ David Beckham (unless you just consider earnings which­ is a bit shallow as I dont recall him winning anything­ in England colours and given he represented GB club­ achievements dont count) but I do agree with you on­ Boris. He doesnt change to be PC and I admire that. Yes­ he will make some gaffs but at least you know where you­ are with him! Also to the purists who complain about­ the spellings here. Even those who do not spell­ correctly have the right to their opinion.

    From sjrees.1, on Mon 25 Aug 1:12PM

  14. was boris johnson representing a down and out under­ waterloo bridge?

    From ubermensch, on Mon 25 Aug 1:05PM

  15. I feel disgusted the way the mayor of London wears his­ suite considering that London is known as one of the­ fashion icon in the world, he seems like a member of­ Little Britain, and why did they hate Beckham,­ considering that he is a symbol of being a real­ British, rugged and nothing in mind but football.

    From Ronaldo G, on Mon 25 Aug 1:03PM

  16. The comments would be interesting to read if only­ people could spell properly, that's the disgrace we­ should be concentrating on. Team GB (or whatever you­ want to call it) will do brilliantly and we will put on­ an amazing event. So please let's get on with it­ and stop being so negative.

    From colinmatthews230, on Mon 25 Aug 12:46PM

  17. The London Olympics in 2012 will be far superior as we­ are a modern, free nation unlike China.

    I bet the­ spectators in China were frightened a lot of the time­ they were there as they know they could have been­ arrested at any time for doing nothing wrong.

    From jillypoosmailbox, on Mon 25 Aug 12:42PM

  18. you have got your sums wrong cleaverp the population of­ the uk is 60,975,000 and if each medal cost 2 millione­ then that would be £94,000,000 so it works out at about­ £1.54 each. and with the london olympics going to cost­ at least 8 billion it works out at around £131 each. is­ that a good deal. thats works out at around 63p every­ week per person running up to the games in 206 weeks­ time. well worth it i think? bring on 2012.

    From upthevilla, on Mon 25 Aug 12:27PM

  19. can only say that I think that all the­ 'moaners' need to get a reality check! The so­ called 'has been' JIMMY PAGE is one of the­ UK's GREATEST LEGENDARY guitarists influencing and­ inpsiring MILLIONS people all around the globe over the­ last 40 years to excel in music and was in one of the­ WORLDS MOST FAMOUS EVER bands to come from GREAT­ BRITAIN! Furthermore, WHOLELOTTALOVE was also a HUGE­ worldwide success winning song for GREAT BRITAIN and­ still sells in its MILLIONS even now! LEONA LEWIS is­ possibly the MOST SUCCESSFUL female artist to come from­ the UK in our pop history, Charting at No.1 ALL AROUND­ THE GLOBE in more countries that you can count on all­ of you digits! DAVID BECKHAM is arguably the GREATEST­ and most SUCCESSFUL Football Player this country has­ ever seen, and is just like the aforementioned, one of­ our best AMBASSADORS WORLDWIDE!.... And as for dear­ ol' BORIS, well, those of us who are happy,­ contented and love life, LOVE him for WHO he is! That­ is - for being REAL and BEING HIMSELF without­ conforming to the one thing that the British seem to be­ getting more and more famous for - being MISERABLE and­ BLAMING IT ON EVERYONE ELSE instead of seeking to ENJOY­ every moment this SHORT LIFE brings!

    Life is GREAT if­ you are Brave Enough to at least try and ENJOY it...

    I­ COULDN'T AGREE MORE WITH THIS POSTER!
    STOP BEING­ SO NEGATIVE PEOPLE!

    From jillypoosmailbox, on Mon 25 Aug 12:25PM

  20. Our eight minute presentation for the 2012 games was­ spoilt by scuffy Boris Johnson. Even Davis Beckham­ looked a better ambassador for Great Britain.

    From don.tremain, on Mon 25 Aug 12:19PM
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