Beijing 2008 Summer Games

The Beijing 2008 Summer Games or Summer Games 2008, also known as the Games of XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from August 8 to 24, 2008. The event will be inaugurated by the President of China at the opening ceremony scheduled to take place at the Beijing National Stadium. As early as on June 26, 2005, “One World, One Dream” was announced to be the official slogan for 2008 Summer Games by the Beijing Summer Games Committee.

Beijing was selected to host the 2008 Summer Games event by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through an exhaustive ballot system. The Beijing National Stadium, which is the major venue for 2008 Beijing Summer Games was constructed specially for the event by Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron Architekten AG in collaboration with China Architecture Design & Research Group. It features a lattice-like concrete skeleton forming the stadium bowl with a seating capacity of 80,000 people. Some other major venues for the Beijing 2008 China Olympics are, Beijing National Indoor Stadium, Beijing National Aquatics Center, Olympic Green Convention Center, Olympic Green, and Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center.

The Beijing 2008 Summer Games games will comprise of 302 events in all, of which, 165 events will be men's, 127 events will be women's, and 10 events will be mixed.

The sports events in the Beijing 2008 Summer Games include:

The 2008 Summer Games Torch Relay, scheduled from March 25, 2008 to August 8, 2008, with the theme "Journey of Harmony", will last 130 days and carry the torch 137,000 km, which is the longest distance covered in any Olympic torch relays. The torch will arrive in Beijing on March 31, after being lit in Olympia, Greece, and traveling through the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens. During the Beijing 2008 Summer Games, the torch will be carried through six continents. Cities along the Silk Road and the highest peak of Mount Everest are a few places to which the torch will be taken in its journey.