The 2008 Beijing Olympics Conclude With Help From British Stars

The 2008 Beijing Olympics Conclude With Help From British Stars August 24, 2008 BEIJING, China — With help from British star power, China concluded its debut as Olympic host Sunday after 16 days of near-flawless logistics and superlative athletic achievement — coexisting awkwardly with the government’s wariness of dissent and free speech. A spectacular closing ceremony opened with torrents of fireworks and included a pulsating show-within-a-show by London, host of the 2012 Games. Huckleberries Online: 2008 Beijing Olympics To End Today Odd Anderson/AP Photo Russian gymnast and gold medalist Evgeniya Kanaeva performs with clubs during the Rythmic Gymnastics Individual at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday. Question: How much of the 2008 Summer Olympics have you watched? Do you plan to watch the closing ceremonies today? Huckleberries Online: 2008 Beijing Olympics To End Today Odd Anderson/AP Photo Russian gymnast and gold medalist Evgeniya Kanaeva performs with clubs during the Rythmic Gymnastics Individual at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday. Question: How much of the 2008 Summer Olympics have you watched? Do you plan to watch the closing ceremonies today?

What are the attendance figures for the Beijing Olympics? Was the turnout less or more than was expected?

I’m particularly interested in the number of non-Chinese visitors to Beijing.

iPhone App: Lonely Planet Mandarin Phrasebook

For those who are getting ready to go to Beijing for the Olympics, here is a handy phrase book in Mandarin. Beijing Olympics and the truth Beijing Olympics and the truthChinese leaders need the Olympic Games to legitimized in the eyes of the world. The stability they achieved is a consequence of the Tiananmen massacre.Analysis by Hans A. Cheers and Jeers: Rum and Coke FRIDAY! From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE “And the gold goes to—cough cough—the one not being wheeled away on a stretcher!” The 2008 Summer Olympic Games start a week from today in Peking. China’s rulers say that everything—from the opening ceremonies to the vendors selling hot dogs (made with real dog!)—will operate with extraordinary efficiency ( or else). Sure, phones will be tapped, media and internet service monitored, and troublemakers gently led to secret “courtesy dungeons.

What about Maria Sharapova and Beijing?

Now that Maria has pulled out of the Olympics, will she still travel to Beijing to walk in the Opening Ceremony with the Russian team?