The Opening Ceremonies
August 8, 2008 at 8: The number 8 is associated with prosperity in Chinese culture.
The Olympic Slogan
One World, One Dream It is the ideal of the Chinese people to share the joy of the Olympics with the global community.Olympic Mascots
The Five Friendlies: Beibei the Fish, Jingjing the Panda, Huanhuan the Olympic Flame, Yingying the Tibetan Antelope, and Nini the Swallow. The first characters of their names spell out "Beijing Huanying Ni" or "Beijing Welcomes you." The colors represent the five Olympic rings and their headpieces represent the five elements of nature.Inside the Numbers
Countries expected to participate: 202Athletes expected to participate: 10,500
Officials expected to participate: 20,000
Volunteers expected to participate: 70,000
Media expected to participate: 22,000
- 5,600 journalists
- 4,400 host broadcasters
- 12,000 rights holders
Number of sports to be contested: 28
Number of disciplines to be contested: 38
Events to be contested: 302
- 165 men's
- 127 women's
- 10 mixed
- Men's and women's 10K Open Water Swimming
- Women's Steeplechase (Athletics)
- Men's and Women's BMX (Cycling)
- Women's Team Saber and Foil Competitions (Fencing)
- Table Tennis Team Event (replaces doubles)
- 31 in Beijing
- 5 in other mainland cities and 1 in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
- 11 new competition venues in Beijing and three outside Beijing
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