I’m watching the closing ceremony on CCTV1 and I’m confused why the announcers first speak French, then English then Chinese. It’s 8.37pm here in China and so the ceremony has been on for around 30 mins. They are now presenting the medals to the marathon men. For that Ethiopia wins bronze, Morocco silver and Kenya wins gold. Kenya’s national anthem plays in the closing ceremony. Lucky Kenya!
Earlier the athletes came out and I saw this woman hugging Yao Ming saying something (on live Tv) “we love you” and he remained poker faced or something. Haha!
So anyway, London has been chosen for the 2012 Olympic Games. Apparently, David Beckham is expected to kick a ball into the crowd and Leona Lewis is going to sing. I believe the British are given 8 minutes for all this. I’ll fill you guys in on this in a few mins.
8.45: New Olympic Committee is welcomed.
8.59pm: Closing ceremony over
9pm: Great Britain national anthem
9.01: Olympic Anthem
9.05: Welcome Beijing and London’s mayors
9.06: Olympic Flag handover ceremony
9.10 Animation Video of London
9.11: Double decker bus goes around stadium with a “London- Beijing- London” on it. With a bunch of dancers (or something out of it)
At this point I’m waiting for Beckham to get out (only coz it’s expected- not that I care… not a fan=)
9.14: Leona Lewis comes out from the top of the bus (by some kind of mechanism) and starts singing with a guitarist, something about “gonna give you my love”… don’t know what that has to do with the Olympics of England…
9.17 Beckham comes out from the top of the bus (and the crowd cheers) and kicks a football into the Olympic volunteer crowd.
9.19: London 2010 preview over and no offense, was quite boring. I expected better thanks to this article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/london2012/2610566/London-can-teach-Chinese-how-to-party-in-2012–Olympics.html
The writer was rude enough to write: “But if this were a Chinese production, a Beijing bus conductor would demand to see Beckham’s ticket.

This was a Games that took place in a gated community. The fun was fenced in. Only the accredited, via an official stamp or punter with a stadium pass, were invited to attend. The festival it might have been was strangled at birth by a culture that does not encourage public displays of anything.”

I was quite offended to read such a thing, considering everything was “fenced in” for security. And public displays of positive things are of course encouraged (I see them all the time!). Who on earth should encourage public displays of negative stuff which always lead to injuries or death anyway?

I also think China’s supposed “lack of human rights” is the reason why civilians rarely kill civilians and in all fairness, you take a life, and they take yours. It’s not as if there’s such a thing as “respecting human rights” anyway, every government is just as guilty as the other. I’ve never heard any of my Chinese friends complaining about anything and my human rights here have been respected. If my Chinese friends make fun of Americans and their system’s flaws and how they preach so much about human rights and how the richest country in the world can’t even provide free medical care for its people, I don’t think anyone is in the position to judge the Chinese and their government. I just look at it all as bitching and maybe jealousy. Why else would bitch about a country they know nothing about? I try my best not to bitch about any country but my own… now that’s how it’s supposed to be!

9.20: Chinese continues with the closing ceremony… less extravagant that the opening but still impressive.

9.40: Andrea Bocelli and a Chinese singer sings

9.50: Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and a few other Chinese singers sing.

9.55: Beijing Olympics Closing ceremony over.