Beijing 2008 Comes to a Close

16 days of amazing athletic performances have now come to a close in Beijing. As always, the athletic performances were wrapped up with the Closing Ceremonies held once again in the Bird's Nest stadium for some 90,000 spectators.

More than 43 new world records were set during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. 7 by American Michael Phelps who once again dominated the pool. Some other unique occurrences unfolded as well, including the Tae Kwon Do athlete from Cuba who was not impressed with his disqualification after taking more than the allowed for 1-minute and promptly kicked the referee in the head leaving him with a bloodied lip and most certainly a significant headache. The Swedish wrestler also stunned onlookers when he threw an Olympic hissy fit and threw his bronze medal to the ground in protest of the judging.

The Closing Ceremonies were one last opportunity for China to wow the world. Fireworks, upon fireworks, led the way and of course concluded the show. Star performances from Jimmy Page and David Beckham were somehow mixed into the performance. Lip-syncing again reined supreme, although the lip-syncers could have maybe used a bit more practice for this ancient art. Jacques Rogge of course deemed Beijing 2008 "truly exceptional".

All Olympic ceremonies to follow... Vancouver 2010, London 2012, and Sochi 2014 ...truly are now in a tough spot with a very tough act to follow. Hopefully with creativity they can also put on some great shows because the other cities almost surely won't have the funds or manpower that the People's Republic of China was able to throw at the 2008 Olympics.

Photo Credit: Martin Dougiamas.