Beijing Summer Olympics were held in August 2008. These games were eagerly awaited by the World sportsmen as the promise of a truly fantastic extravaganza had been made by the Government of the Peoples Republic of China to the World. Officially they were
known as the XX1X Olympiad. The official logo of this Olympiad was ‘Dancing Beijing’’ represented by a calligraphic character Jing in a stylized form. It was the usual multi sport event in which 11028 sportsmen from 204 nations competed in 28 sports and 302
sporting events. For China this was a major event, an opportunity to expose its development and capability to the rest of the World. For this, no stone was left unturned and a truly colossal national effort was made to create facilities and an environment
of outstanding standards. This was only the third time that the Olympiad was held in Asia. Earlier the games were held in Tokyo in 1964 and in Seoul in 1988.
China won the competition to hold the games from four competing countries in 2001 despite attempts at the international level to politicize the Olympics by raising human rights issues. The Government of Peoples Republic of China invested heavily in the
games and grand new facilities and transportation systems were created. The Games were to be given unprecedented media coverage, the largest audience in television history. Twelve modern venues were specially constructed for the games. A total of 37 venues
were used for different sporting events. The equestrian events were held in Hong Kong.
43 new world records were set and 132 Olympic records broken during the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Chinese sportsmen for the first time won the most gold medals. They achieved a tally of 31 gold and an overall total of 100 medals. The United States won
the largest number of medals with their 110 tally. History was created by Michael Phelps after he broke the record of the largest number of gold medals won by an individual, by winning eight swimming gold medals. Usain Bolt, who won the 100m and 200m races
was declared the World’s Fastest Man’.
At the end of the Games they were declared as truly exceptional by Jacques Rogge the International Olympic Committee President. The World had watched in awe at the marvel that China unfolded in organizing and conducting these truly remarkable games at its
World Class facilities.
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