2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony - Australia ABC-7 (720p HD with lyrics captions)

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• published: 30 Apr 2016
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Sequence of events: 1. Countdown ---- 2:45 An ancient Chinese sundial emits a time flame and lights up 2008 Fou drums. The countdown begins... 2. Welcome Ceremony ----- 7:32 The 2008 percussionists hit their drums and chant the saying from The Analects: "Isn’t it delightful to have friends coming from afar?” to welcome friends. 3. Footprints of History & Dream Rings ----- 11:11 A trail of 29 fireworks, in the shape of footprints, are let off marching along the Beijing's ancient city axis into the Bird’s Nest, each represents one of the 29 Olympiads. The final footprint transforms into star rain and forms glittering olympic rings. Accompanied by the music "Dream Rings", 20 Dunhuang Apsarases lift olympic rings into the air. 4. National Flag-raising Ceremony ----- 15:17 Songs: Ode to Motherland Chinese National Anthem: March of the Volunteers 5. Artistic Section: 1) Chinese Scroll Painting ------ 19:19 A Chinese scroll unfolds in the center of the stage. At its center is a piece of white paper. The images of rock paintings, porcelains and bronze wares flowing on the scroll symbolize the origin of Chinese civilization. The dancers draw images by using their bodies as brushes, representing Chinese Ink-wash painting. The music comes from a Guqin (ancient Chinese 7-string zither), which is also praised as "the father of Chinese music" or "the instrument of the sages"... 2) Confucius' Philosophy & Evolution of Chinese Character ----- 25:05 810 Confucian scholars chant famous sayings from The Analects: “All those within the four seas can be considered brothers......." The movable type (one of the four great Chinese inventions) is used to present the evolutionary process of Chinese writing (897 printing blocks form Chinese character "Harmony" in 3 different calligraphy styles from ancient to modern times). The segment also conveys the most ancient humanistic philosophy - "Harmony is most precious.".. 3) Chinese Opera ------ 32:06 The vast land of China has given births to hundreds of types of traditional operas, of which the Beijing (Peking) opera is praised as the quintessence of Chinese culture. In this segment, four operatic puppets and 800 opera performers depict a festive sense of triumphant return... 4) Silk Road & Zheng He's Seven Voyages ------ 34:29 A Dunhuang dancer dances on the paper, which has been transformed into a distant and boundless desert. On the scroll is the depiction of Silk Road on the land from Chang'an (Xi'an) to western regions. Then, hundreds of sailors with huge oars depict the scenes of ancient navigation, which represents Chinese navigator Zheng He's seven voyages on the Maritime Silk Road during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). A man holding the magnetic compass (one of the four great Chinese inventions) gives fleet directions.... 5) Five Dynasties ------ 41:01 Accompanied by "A Moonlight Night on the Spring River" sung by two Kunqu opera performers, the scroll expands and shows several ancient paintings from Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. The segment represents the prosperity of ancient China as “The State of Li and Yue"... 6) Starlight ----- 46:17 The scroll has been depicted from brilliant ancient to the colorful modern era. Accompanied by a dreamy piano music played by Lang Lang and Li Muzi, The scroll emits bright starlight, which then transforms into peace dove and Bird's Nest..... 7) Nature (Tai Chi) ------ 53:33 A Tai-chi performance by 2,008 masters shows the fluid movements achieved when in harmony with nature. A short play is shown with schoolchildren drawing and coloring on the paper scroll and singing the poetry. The segment conveys the idea of “Green Olympics"... 8) Dream ------ 1:01:13 In the vast universe with bright starlight, a dreamy blue planet rises gradually. She is our common home... 6. Theme Song of Beijing Olympics: You and Me ------ 1:04:18 (sung by Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman) 7. Parade of Nations ----- 1:10:29 Traditionally nations are ordered in alphabetic order of the national language of the host country (or if there is more than one, the more dominant of the languages of the host city); as Chinese writing is not alphabetic, the teams paraded by stroke order of the first character of their respective countries' names in Simplified Chinese. 8. Speeches by the Presidents ------- 3:26:00 Liu Qi, the head of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee. Count Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee. 9. Olympic Flag-raising Ceremony ------ 3:38:11 10. Olympic Oath ------- 3:49:29 Chinese table tennis champion Zhang Yining and arbiter Huang Liping took the Olympic oath, representing athletes and officials respectively. 11. Release of the Peace Dove ------ 3:52:22 ("The Sky" sung by Tan Jing) 12. Torch-lighting ------- 3:55:00 The Olympic torch was relayed around the stadium by seven athletes, and was finally passed on to Li Ning, the former gymnast champion in 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.