The 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest.
[1] The ceremony was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and began at 20:00 China Standard Time (UTC+8) on Sunday night, 24 August 2008.
[3][4] By the end of the 16 days of NBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics in the United States, it had also become the most-watched U.S. television event of all time,[5] with over 211 million American viewers tuned into the Olympics on NBC according to the Nielsen Media Research;[5] this is 2 million more than the 1996 Atlanta Games, the previous all-time record-holder.
is used to release large-scale fireworks above the stadium to the Games and herald the start of the officially opening time at 20:00:00 China Standard Time with the fireworks burst immediately when the countdown ended, forming a great circle in the sky which symbolized the success of the Beijing Olympic Games.
A video was played on the large screen in the north and south to explain the theme of the Closing Ceremony.
A grand celebration began: Next, silver bell performers danced in time to the beat of the heavenly drums on the Main Stage to greet the guests.
Notable faces included: International organizations: Host nation: Foreign dignitaries: Led by guides and placard holders, the flag bearers of all delegations entered the stadium, divided into two groups.
One group (1–102), headed by Greece as per tradition, entered from Gate 4 in alphabetical order and stood along the main stage.
Then, four children led four new members of IOC Athletes' Commission (Moon Dae-Sung of South Korea, Alexander Popov of Russia, Claudia Bokel of Germany and Yumilka Ruiz Luaces of Cuba) to walk together with four people for the ceremony from Gate 1 to the Main Stage.
The final medalists are listed below: The People's Liberation Army then enter the stadium, holding the national flag of Greece.
The Olympic flag was handed from Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing, to Count Rogge, the President of the IOC.
It featured the urban dance group ZooNation, the Royal Ballet, and Candoco, a disabled dance group, all dressed as typical London commuters waiting for a bus by a zebra crossing, whilst Olympic Champions Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Jamie Staff cycled around the stadium.
Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis then performed the Led Zeppelin classic Whole Lotta Love and David Beckham kicked a football into the crowd of athletes, accompanied by violinist Elspeth Hanson and cellist Kwesi Edman.
In special-effect lighting, the boarding ladder truck with the logo of Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games was slowly elevated.
In the dark, a huge mechanic device — the landmarks including the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome and Big Ben in London at the center of the field — rose slowly, with two "sports sculpture" performers standing on top of it and showing various athletic gestures.
At the center of the field, two "sports sculpture" performers rise gradually and show different athletic gestures slowly in the air, conveying the noble Olympic spirit.
Landmark including the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome and Big Ben in London as the Olympic flame took its final breath.
In the passionate far-reaching music, 16 lucky cloud yarn strips slowly Landmark including the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome and Big Ben in London on the main stage.
Two Chinese and foreign singers on the mobile singing performance car went from Gate 1 to the front of the VIP corridor, and sang "The Flame of Love".
The final performance ended with a closing farewell musical song "Please stay, Guests from afar", 50 male dancers holding Fuwa lucky cloud yarn strips and paper flower launchers and 120 other dancers danced on the Main Stage in tune with the rhythm of the song.
Performers threw Fuwa's lucky cloud yarn strips into the stadium, interacting with the athletes to fireworks at closing ceremony "sign-off".