After seven years of preparation, billions of dollars of investment, and a mammoth effort to clean up Beijing's polluted skies, Chinese Olympics officials say they are staging one of the greatest Olympics ever. The 29th summer games began at 8:08pm Beijing time on Friday – an auspicious time and date in Chinese culture which regards the number eight as lucky.
Details of the opening ceremony had been kept a closely guarded secret, but producers had promised a show that will "amaze the world".
"We have prepared for the Beijing Olympics for seven years and now we are ready ... we are very confident indeed that we will stage a successful Olympics," Sun Weide, spokesman for the organising committee, told reporters.
More than 100 world leaders and senior government representatives, including George Bush, the US president, will be in the Bird's Nest National Stadium on Friday evening to watch opening ceremony.
For China's government the hosting of the Olympics marks the opportunity to put the achievements of three decades of economic reforms in the global spotlight.
It has spent $43bn preparing for the Olympics and deployed a massive security operation to ensure the games present a flawless impression to the world.
On Friday a thick haze continued to lie over the Chinese capital, although it was unclear whether the low visibility was a result of pollution or from seasonal humidity and still climatic conditions.
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