The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and also known as Beijing 2008, were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 28 sports and 302 events, one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics. This was the first time China had hosted the Olympic Games, and the third time the Summer Olympic Games had been held in East Asia, following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. These were also the second Summer Olympic Games to be held in a communist state, the first being the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union.
Liu Qi is a retired Chinese politician. He formerly served as the Communist Party Secretary of Beijing, and also a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. He was also the President of the Beijing 2008 Olympics Organizing Committee.
Ten cities submitted bids to host the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics that were recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), five of which made the IOC Executive Committee's shortlist. The games were awarded to Beijing, China on July 13, 2001. The other shortlisted cities were Toronto, Paris, Istanbul and Osaka. Beijing won an absolute majority of votes after two rounds of voting, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds of voting. IOC delegates and the media identified a number of factors in its favor, including the size of the country, improvements in Chinese anti-doping enforcement, and its close loss to Sydney, Australia eight years earlier. In that bidding process, which chose the host city for the 2000 Summer Olympics, Beijing led every round of voting but lost in the final round to Sydney by two votes.
For the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, a total of thirty-seven venues were used. Events took place at eleven pre-existing venues, twelve new venues constructed for the Olympics, and eight temporary venues that were removed following the games. In addition, six venues outside Beijing hosted events, two of which were newly built for the Olympics.
Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and several other cities in the People's Republic of China from 6 to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their full women's national teams and men's U-23 teams to participate. Men's teams were allowed to augment their squad with three players over the age of 23.
Field hockey at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held over a fourteen-day period beginning on 10 August, culminating with the medal finals on 22 and 23 August. All games were played at the hockey field constructed on the Olympic Green.
The Philippines competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The country was represented by 15 athletes, 10 men and 5 women, who competed in 17 events across 8 sports.
Guo Jinlong is a Chinese politician, who served as the Vice Chairman of the Central Guidance Commission on Building Spiritual Civilization, and was a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. Between 2008 and 2012 Guo served as the Mayor of Beijing, and Communist Party Secretary of Beijing between 2012 and 2017. As the Mayor of Beijing during the 2008 Olympics, Guo served as the executive chairman of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG).
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, from 8 to 24 August 2008. Approximately 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 302 events in 28 sports.
The 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament was a wushu competition which was held from August 21 to 24, 2008 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Beijing, China. The tournament was organised by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), and the Chinese Wushu Association (CWA), and was held in tandem with the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The women's road race was one of the cycling events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. It took place on 10 August 2008, featuring 66 women from 33 countries. It was the seventh appearance of an Olympic women's road race event and featured a longer course than any of the previous six races. The race was run on the Urban Road Cycling Course, which is 102.6 kilometres (63.8 mi) total. Including a second lap around the 23.8 km (14.8 mi) final circuit, the total distance of the women's race was 126.4 km (78.5 mi), less than half the length of the men's race.
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 20:00 China Standard Time (UTC+08:00) on Friday, 8 August 2008, as the number 8 is considered to be auspicious. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture. The artistic part of the ceremony comprised two parts titled "Brilliant Civilization" and "Glorious Era" respectively. The first part highlighted the Chinese civilization and the second part exhibited modern China and its dream of harmony between the people of the world. The stadium was full to its 91,000 capacity according to organizers.
Liu Jingmin is the Vice Mayor of Beijing, and Executive Vice President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.
The Boccia Pairs BC4 event at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the Olympic Green Convention Center on 10–12 September. The preliminary stages consisted of 2 round-robin groups of 4 pairs each. The top two teams in each group qualified for the final stages. The event was won by the team representing Brazil.
The team championship, para-equestrian dressage event at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was decided by tests ridden at Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre. Each rider performed two tests, the Team Test on September 7 and the Individual Championship Test on September 8–9. Team scores were the sum of the best 3 Team Tests and best 3 Championship Test.
