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China presents itself to the world after $40 billion investment; World leaders in attendance
China did its best to present itself to the world as it hosted the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games with an epic display of fireworks and choreography as world leaders watched.
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In attendance were 91,000 people at the so-called 'Bird's Nest' national Stadium in Beijing. Among those present were U.S. President George Bush and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.
In preparation for the Olympics, China has invested more than $40 billion for infrastructure, including new venues and upgrades to the Beijing's transportation system. China spent $20 million for the Olympic opening performance alone.
President Bush's appearance marked the first Olympics where a U.S. president has attended the Games outside of the United States.
A potential global audience of up to 4 billion people is expected to see the opening ceremony. The show was the largest and costliest extravaganza in the Olympic History.
The ceremony's storyline and scenes covered 5,000 years of Chinese history. People, objects and events in the production included the Great Wall, opera puppets, astronauts and achievements in music and science.
Film director Zhang Yimou helped to produce create majestic and epic imagery. In one part of the ceremony, athletes floated around a globe while leading Chinese artists sang the theme song 'One world one dream'.
The cast consisted of approximately 15,000 people.
In a nation where the number eight is the luckiest number, the ceremony began at 8pm on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008.
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