2008 Beijing Olympics

After the setback of Tibet unrest, Sichuan Earthquake, pollution and various concerns, the 2008 Olympics is set to kick off in 7 hours from now! Although life is getting increasingly hectic for me, I am definitely not going to miss out on this biggest sports event in the world. If only I could think of ways to sneak in TV times in between studies, sleep and studies in the coming two weeks. :P

So let's talk about the opening ceremony. One thing that I found amusing about the opening ceremony is the list of heads of state in the attendant list - including some who said they were going to "boycott" the opening ceremony. In particular, there is this subliminal hypocrisy by Mr. Nicolas Sarcozy the French President.

It's said that Jay Chou, Sarah Brightman and Celine Dion will be among the celebrities who will perform at the opening ceremony. I am not sure how well Jay Chou will do in front of billions of TV spectators, but I wish him all the best.

Naturally, we are all interested in finding out who's going to light the Olympic flame. For me, the obvious options include Liu Xiang (the 110m hurdle gold medalist in Athens, previous World Record holder) and Yao Ming (reportedly one of the most recognised Chinese face in the world). But Yao Ming is apparently the flagbearer of the parade ceremony, so there goes the chance of his earning this great honour. Meanwhile, I am guessing that with the recent earthquake, it's possible that some heroic survivors could be chosen for the role as well. While those people would have been the ideal choice, given the previous flame lighters (read here), I am thinking that having the Dalai Lama light the flame would be far more interesting.

Azizul Hasni Awang, the Malaysian cyclist will be our flag bearer. Interestingly, Malaysia will be the 10th country to appear in the parade of nations, due to the appearance order being arranged by the number of strokes of the first Chinese character in the nation's Chinese name. Malaysia is 马来西亚, and with 3 strokes in 马, we earned our 10th place quite easily. Australia will be near the very end, because 澳大利亚 has a pretty complicated first word with 15 characters. :D

Let the Olympics begin!