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Olympics 2008 starts with dazzling extravaganza

Beijing: Resurgent China opened the Olympics on August 8 with volleys of fireworks at a spectacular ceremony that wove ancient Chinese history with modern wizardry and aimed to draw a line under months of political controversy.
Drums thundered, firecrackers exploded and 14,000 performers poured through the Bird’s Nest Stadium in a dazzling extravaganza that offered up a vision of global harmony echoing the Games’ motto “One World One Dream.”
Around 80 world leaders watched the show which celebrated the achievements of imperial China. The ceremony caps seven years of work that has reshaped Beijing and sets the seal on an industrial boom that has turned the country into the world’s fourth largest economy. The Games carry a $43 billion price tag, dwarfing the $15 billion splashed out by Athens in 2004, and run until August 24, with 10,500 athletes from a record 204 nations chasing 302 gold medals in 28 sports.
Chinese President Hu Jintao declared the Games open.