2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

The closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Paralympics took place at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China, on March 13, 2022.

The 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and began at 20:00 China Standard Time (UTC+8) on Sunday night, 24 August 2008. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture. The musical acts included Plácido Domingo and Song Zuying singing The Flame of Love (lyrics by writers Song Xiaoming and Yuan Yuan) Wei Wei and Sun Nan singing Beijing Beijing (wo ai Beijing). Leona Lewis, Jimmy Page (with David Beckham making an appearance), Elspeth Hanson as the violinist and Kwesi Edman as the cellist. Andy Lau, Emil Chau, Jackie Chan, Karen Mok, Kelly Chen, Joey Yung and Nicolas Tse. Wang Lee Hom, Stefanie Sun and Rain. Han Hong Klaus Badelt wrote the music for the closing ceremonies.The Ceremony also included the handover of the games from Beijing to London. Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing, handed over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. There was also a performance organized by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG). While the opening ceremony was described as an artistic and serious introduction of China's ancient past, the closing ceremony was described by Western media as "much more lighthearted", "silly" and "fun" than the opening ceremony.By the end of the 16 days of NBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics in the United States, it had also become the most-watched U.S. television event of all time, with over 211 million American viewers tuned into the Olympics on NBC according to the Nielsen Media Research; this is 2 million more than the 1996 Atlanta Games, the previous all-time record-holder.

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Paralympics took place on 4 March 2022 at the Beijing National Stadium (also known as "Bird's Nest") in Beijing, China. The Games were opened by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of China.

The 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony was held at Beijing National Stadium, China on 4 February 2022. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings are expected to combine the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's winter culture and modern history. The Games were officially opened by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and president of the People's Republic of China. The opening ceremony was directed by film director and producer Zhang Yimou, who has previously directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics, which was China's first time hosting the Olympics. The world's largest LED screen (10,552 square metres (113,580 sq ft) and uses 40,000 LED modules) was unveiled at the opening ceremony.The ceremony was also marked by diplomatic boycotts from certain countries among other concerns and controversies.

The National Stadium (国家体育场), a.k.a Bird's Nest (鸟巢), is a stadium at Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The National Stadium, covering an area of 204,000 square meters with 91,000 capacity, broke ground in December 2003, officially started construction in March 2004, and was completed in June 2008.The National Stadium is owned and operated by a public–private partnership company between Beijing Municipal State-owned Assets Management Co Ltd (58%) and CITIC Group (42%).The stadium was designed for the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. It was also used during the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

The 2022 Winter Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing on 20 February 2022. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings are expected to combine the formal ceremonial closing of this international sporting event (including closing speeches, hoisting of the flags, the parade of athletes, and the handover of the Olympic flag) with an artistic spectacle to showcase the culture and history of the current and next host nation (Italy) for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.The closing ceremony was directed by film director and producer Zhang Yimou, who also directed the opening ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympics and previously directed and produced the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The women's shot put at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22 August.The championship suffered a little with the failure of Valerie Adams to return to defend her 2013 title following surgery over the winter. In the run-up to these championships Adams suffered the end of her 57 event winning streak a month earlier.In the finals, home favorite Gong Lijiao assumed the early lead with a 20.30 first put. On the third throw, Christina Schwanitz made 20.37 to take the lead. Gong had no answer and the rest of the field was too far behind, led by Michelle Carter's 19.76. Anita Márton threw a fourth round 19.48m national record to take fourth.

The 2008 Summer Olympics cauldron is the Olympic flame holder that was used during the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. It was first lit on August 8, 2008, as part of the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and last extinguished as part of the closing ceremony of the games of the Paralympics on September 17. Originally located on the inside roof of the Beijing National Stadium, it was relocated to outside the stadium on the Olympic Green following the completion of the Games.

The Pangu Plaza (Chinese: 盘古大观) is a five mixed used buildings complex comprises an office building, three apartment buildings, clubs, retail and Pangu 7 Star Hotel (Pangu Seven Star Hotel) which located at 27, North 4th Ring Middle Road, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. Shaped like a dragon, it is neighbor with many of the 2008 Beijing Olympic venues, including the Beijing National Stadium (Bird Nest) and the Beijing National Aquatics Center (Water Cube). Also, it is close to the National Library, the fourth largest library in the world and the largest one in China. The Pangu Plaza was designed by Chu-Yuan Lee of C.Y. Lee & Partners, the Taiwan-based architecture firm responsible for Taipei 101, for the world's first traditional Chinese “courtyard in the sky." Pangu 7 Star Hotel occupies the "First Block" of the "Pangu", and it contains two pavilions, a temple, a French restaurant, a Top Class Japanese restaurant, 234 guest rooms, with 140 suites, and a 600-metre-long (2,000 ft) corridor. Pangu Plaza is a building invested and built by Guo Wengui in 2008.

The Ling Long Pagoda or Linglong Tower (Multifunctional Studio Tower) (玲珑塔) houses a part of the International Broadcast Center (IBC). It is located near the Olympic Cauldron, on the northwest side of Beijing National Stadium. "Ling Long" (玲珑) means delicate, and is referred to as the Delicate Tower in Chinese.

Beijing Olympic Green Circuit is a street circuit in Beijing, China, which was first used on 13 September 2014 during the first ePrix of Formula E. It ran around the grounds of the Olympic Stadium used in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The track featured 20 turns, and at 3.453 km (2.146 mi) is still the longest track currently used in Formula E. Choosing the location and designing the track was done by designer Rodrigo Nunes in close cooperation with the FIA, Formula E, the Federation of Automobile and Motorcycle Sports of PR China, the Olympic Green management, the Mayor of Beijing, the Chinese Government, and event organiser China Racing.

The Water Cube (水立方), fully known as the National Aquatics Centre (国家游泳中心), is a swimming center at the Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The Water Cube was originally constructed to host the aquatics competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. During the 2008 Olympics—where it hosted diving, swimming and synchronized swimming events—25 world records were broken in this facility. In July 2010, a renovation of the facility was completed, which included the addition of a 12,000 m2 (130,000 sq ft) public water park. After renovation and adaptive configuration, the Water Cube also hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.