10 Years On: A Look Back at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Hype as It Happened

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, an event that was to encapsulate China's world power dreams and a moment to prove itself on the international stage through the innocuous and peaceful conduit of sport. More importantly, it was a time for the Chinese government to be vindicated for the rapid economic growth that it had so ardently orchestrated over the previous 30 years, an ambition that had been double downed on by a singular event in 1989 that threatened to topple the Party, and whose action at the time had cast a dark shadow over the country in the eyes of Western powers. Despite any ongoing social ills, the Olympics gave China an opportunity to shine again.

For many outside the country, it was first time that China had been represented by anything other than its political face, with civilians and Olympians alike sharing the limelight to paint in the gaps of the one-dimensional picture that critical news only often allows for. For those in Beijing, it was an electric, if not completely hectic, transformation of the capital; a time for locals to feel proud and visitors to be wowed. Grandiose displays in the stadiums went head-to-head with a vast project to clean up the city's image on the streets, all the while China greeted anyone willing to listen with a jubilant (if not entirely overplayed) "Beijing huanying ni!"

As we move closer and closer to Beijing's second chance at sporting glory, this time on the slopes, in the rinks, and on the tracks of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, we take a moment to look back at some of the news that was gripping Beijing ahead of its first round in the sporting spotlight one decade ago.

Blow Up the Olympics
Just under a year prior to the Olympics, it was announced that Cai Guoqiang, China's godfather of all things pyromania was recruited to oversee the fireworks display at the opening ceremony (if you haven't seen the touching account of his Sky Ladder creation, put it on your to watch list). Additionally, director Zhang Yimou was cast as one of the head artistic directors of the event.

Great Balls of Fire
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only news blowing up at the time given that the Peking University Gymnasium, planned to be the 2008 Olympics ping-pong venue, caught fire one month before it was set to be complete. Luckily, hordes of firefighters rushed to control the blaze and no casualties were reported. At the time, the fire was unofficially blamed on faulty electric welding.

Ten Do's and Don'ts in Olympic Prep
As excitement built for the Olympics so did the government fervor to civilize the people. Instructions on how to present a good face went into overdrive and culminated in road-side do's and don'ts lists that included tidbits of wisdom like: Do try to learn as much as you can about Olympic regulations and Don't buy or sell pirated goods.

Where have all the Billboards Gone? and Where Are These Olympic Scratchcards From?
While Beijingers' minds were being cleansed of the urge to spit and graffiti on everything, the city's environment was also getting a scrub with the airport expressway's once-defining billboards, flogging everything from jewelry to real estate, being taken down on orders from the government. In the meantime, 5 kuai Olympic scratchcards were unleashed on the public, leading us to ponder, "Ever wonder where Beijing's getting all the money to build such architectural marvels as the Bird's Nest (estimated at costing around RMB 3.5 billion) and the Water Cube (about RMB 1 billion)?"

Materialize your Olympic Dream
If it wasn't scratchcards you wanted to spend your money on, there was plenty of other Olympic-branded tat to buy up, including man bags, pinky rings, and even an 18-karat gold-plated Olympic edition cell phone. With junk like this, it was easy to get distracted about what the Games were really about: the cute, cuddly, omnipresent, shoved-down-your-throat-every-10-seconds Fuwa, of course (which could be yours fashioned out of jade for the modest price of RMB 290,000).

Questions, Questions, Questions
Let's just say that there were still a lot of unanswered questions six months prior to the big day.

Images from the Opening Ceremony from Around the Web and Inside the Birds Nest
And boom, it was here! Drummers in diapers and fake fireworks galore meant the beginning of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. All joking aside, the opening ceremony was truly a spectacle to behold and it had much of the world in awe with what could be achieved when one country had so many people at its disposal.

A Look at the Highlights of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
And then it was over. The Olympics and the Paralympics passed with nary a hitch and it was back to normal life for the laymen and women of China, except now they had been afforded a wave of pride courtesy of the home athletes topping the gold medal tally, 42 in total, 12 more than their nearest competitors, the USA (in yo face!). Here we took a moment to recap some of the best moments from during the Games.

What's Next for the Olympic Venues
No sooner had the Games finished than the discussion about what was to become of the official stadiums had begun. Thanks to the power of hindsight (with regards to examples of monumental wastes of money at previous Olympic Games), 11 of the venues used during the event were previously standing, meaning that only 12 of the 31 venues were new, including the Water Cube and Bird’s Nest. Another eight were temporary venues, which included the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground, still accessible to this day.

Now that you've been suitably reminded of what Beijing was like during the 2008 Olympics fever, you can continue the excitement by reading through our buildup blogs for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, a mere four years away. Jiayou Zhongguo! 

Images: insidethegames.biz