Closing ceremony
Main article: 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
The 2008 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony concluded the Beijing Games on August 24, 2008. It began at 8:00pm China Standard Time(UTC+8), and took place at the Beijing National Stadium.
The Ceremony included the handover of the Games from Beijing to London. Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing handed over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, followed by a performance organized by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games(LOCOG). This presentation included performances by guitarist Jimmy Page, and recording artist Leona Lewis. Footballer David Beckhamwas also featured during London's presentation.[70]
[edit]Medal table
Main article: 2008 Summer Olympics medal table
Athletes from 86 countries won medals, 54 of which won gold medals, both setting new records for Olympic Games.[71][72] 118 participating countries did not win a medal. Athletes from China won 51 gold medals, the most of any nation at these Olympics, becoming the first nation other than the United States and Russia to do so since the 1936 Summer Olympics.[71] Athletes from theUnited States won the most total medals, with 110.[72] Afghanistan,[73] Mauritius,[74] Sudan,[75]Tajikistan,[76] and Togo[77] won their first Olympic medals. Athletes from Mongolia (which previously held the record for most medals without a gold),[78] and Panama[79] won their nation's first gold medals. An athlete from Serbia won its first medal under that name, having previously won medals as part of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro.[80]
The top ten ranked NOCs at these Games are listed below. The host nation, China, is highlighted.[72]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  China (CHN) | 51 | 21 | 28 | 100 |
| 2 |  United States (USA) | 36 | 38 | 36 | 110 |
| 3 |  Russia (RUS) | 23 | 21 | 28 | 72 |
| 4 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 19 | 13 | 15 | 47 |
| 5 |  Germany (GER) | 16 | 10 | 15 | 41 |
| 6 |  Australia (AUS) | 14 | 15 | 17 | 46 |
| 7 |  South Korea (KOR) | 13 | 10 | 8 | 31 |
| 8 |  Japan (JPN) | 9 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| 9 |  Italy (ITA) | 8 | 9 | 10 | 27 |
| 10 |  France (FRA) | 7 | 16 | 18 | 41 |
[edit]Participation
All but one of the 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that existed as of 2008 participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics, the exception being Brunei.[81] Three countries participated in the Olympic Games for their first time: the Marshall Islands, Montenegro andTuvalu.[82] The Marshall Islands and Tuvalu gained National Olympic Committee status in 2006 and 2007 respectively, and 2008 was the first games in which they were eligible to participate.[83][84] The states of Serbia and Montenegro, which participated at the 2004 Games jointly as Serbia and Montenegro, competed separately for the first time. The Montenegrin Olympic Committee was accepted as a new National Olympic Committee in 2007.[84]Neighboring Kosovo, however, did not participate. After the declaration of independence in Kosovo, the IOC specified requirements that Kosovo needs to meet before being recognised by the IOC; most notably, it has to be recognised as independent by the United Nations.[85] Chinaand the United States had the largest teams, with 639 for China and 596 for the United States.[86][87]
More than 100 sovereigns, heads of state and heads of government as well as 170 Ministers of Sport attended the Beijing Olympic Games.[88]
[edit]National participation changes
As in Olympics Games since 1984, athletes from the Republic of China (Taiwan) competed at the 2008 Games asChinese Taipei (TPE)[90] under the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag and using the National Banner Song as their official anthem. The participation of Taiwan was briefly in doubt because of disagreements over the name of their team in the Chinese language and concerns about Taiwan marching in the Opening Ceremony next to the special administrative region of Hong Kong. A compromise on the naming was reached, and Taiwan was referred to during the games as "Chinese Taipei," rather than "China's Taipei," as the mainland China government had proposed. In addition, the Central African Republic was placed between Chinese Taipei and the Special Administrative Regions during the march of nations.[91]
Starting in 2005, North Korea and South Korea held meetings to discuss the possibility of sending a united team to the 2008 Olympics.[92][93] The proposal failed, because of disagreements about how athletes would be chosen; North Korea was demanding a certain percentage representation for its athletes. A subsequent attempt to broker an agreement for the two nations to walk together during the March of Nations failed as well, despite their having done so during the 2000 and 2004 Games.[94]
On July 24, 2008, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Iraq from competing in the 2008 Olympic Summer Games because of "political interference by the government in sports."[95][96] On July 29, the IOC reversed its decision and allowed the nation to compete after a pledge by Iraq to ensure "the independence of its national Olympics panel" by instituting fair elections before the end of November. In the meantime, Iraq's Olympic Organisation was run by "an interim committee proposed by its national sports federations and approved by the IOC."[97]
Brunei Darussalam was due to take part in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. However, they were disqualified on August 8, having failed to register either of their two athletes.[98] The IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said in a statement that "it is a great shame and very sad for the athletes who lose out because of the decision by their team not to register them. The IOC tried up until the last minute, midday Friday August 8, 2008, the day of the official opening, to have them register, but to no avail."[99] Brunei's Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports issued a press release stating that their decision not to participate was due to an injury to one of their athletes.[100]
Georgia announced on August 9, 2008 that it was considering withdrawing from the Beijing Olympic Games because of the military conflict in South Ossetia, but it went on to compete while the conflict was still ongoing.[101]
[edit]Participation of athletes with disabilities
South African swimmer Natalie du Toit, whose left leg was amputated following a motor scooter accident, qualified to compete at the Beijing Olympics. The five time gold medalist at the Athens Paralympics in 2004, made history by becoming the first amputee to qualify for the Olympic Games since Olivér Halassy in 1936. She was able to compete in the Olympics rather than the Paralympics because she does not use a prosthetic leg while swimming.[102] Polish athlete Natalia Partyka, who was born without a right forearm, competed in Table Tennis in both the 2008 Olympic Games and 2008 Paralympic Games.[103]
[edit]Concerns and controversies
Main article: Concerns and controversies over the 2008 Summer Olympics
A variety of concerns over the Games, or China's hosting of the Games, had been expressed by various entities, including allegations that China violated its pledge to allow open media access,[104] various alleged human rights violations,[105][106] its continuous support of repressive regimes (such as Zimbabwe, Myanmar, Sudan, and North Korea), air pollution in both the city of Beijing and in neighbouring areas,[107] proposed boycotts,[108][109] warnings of the possibility that the Beijing Olympics could be targeted by terrorist groups,[110] potentially violent disruption from pro-Tibetan protesters,[111] and religious persecutions.[112] Bar owners in central Beijing had been forced "not to serve black people or Mongolians".[113]
There were also reports that several members of China's women's gymnastics team, including double gold medal winner He Kexin, were too young to compete under the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique's rules for Olympic eligibility, but all were exonerated after an official IOC investigation.[114][115][116]
In the lead-up to the Olympics, the government allegedly issued guidelines to the local media for their reporting during the Games: most political issues not directly related to the games were to be downplayed; topics such as pro-Tibetan independence and East Turkestan movements were not to be reported on, as were food safety issues such as "cancer-causing mineral water."[117] As the 2008 Chinese milk scandal broke in September 2008, there was widespread speculation that China's desire for a perfect Games may have been a factor contributing towards the delayed recall of contaminated infant formula.[118][119]
[edit]Legacy
The 2008 Olympic Games have been generally accepted by the world's media as a logistical success, despite the heavy politicization of the games beforehand.[120][121] Contrary to fears before the game, no terrorists struck Beijing; no athlete protested at the podium, and due largely to favorable weather conditions, the air quality, although the worst in Olympics history, was not as bad as many had feared beforehand.[122][123]
For the Chinese government, the Olympic events, as well as the medals won by Chinese athletes, were a great source of national pride. It was seen as a symbol of China's pride and place in the world, while protests against the relay that occurred overseas were presented in the state media as the attempt of foreigners to deny the Chinese people that place.[124] The Olympics seem to have also bolstered some domestic support for the Chinese government, and support for the policies of the Communist Party of China, giving rise to concerns that the state will possibly have more leverage to disperse dissent, at least momentarily.[125] It is also believed that the number of gold medals won at the Olympics helped the pro-Beijing party (DAB) win at Hong Kong legislative election, 2008, in which the DAB remained the largest party. In the days before the election, a number of Chinese gold medalists visited Hong Kong to rally support behind the DAB, although some analysts had expected larger gains as a result of this than actually occurred.[126]
The long-term economic impact of the games on China and Beijing in particular is not yet clear. Some sectors of the economy may have benefited from the influx of tourists, and other sectors such as manufacturing lost revenue because of plant closings related to the government's efforts to improve air quality. It is generally expected by economists that there will be no lasting effects on the city's economy from the game
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