Category — Sport

There’s going to be alot of sporting action in the coming days of course. Anything quirky enough to make it to One Inch Punch will now go straight into the new 2008 Beijing Olympics category.

Remembering previous posts, there was the Beijing Mosaic Made Out of 28,000 Acrylic Fingernails, somehow, sounding not so impressive after seeing the ceremony. But still good!

We might get a chance to see the Youngest Professional Rock Band in China again since they performed in the closing ceremony for the Olympic culture festival in Beijing last year.

Wlll they still sell square watermelons with the Beijing Olympic logo?

And lastly, the Olympics were one reason for learning Chinese in ten reasons given in one of our very first posts : Top Ten Reasons why you should Learn Chinese. Check out the other nine reasons!

Technorati Tags: 2008 Beijing Oympics, Beijing, China, Olympics, Olympics coverage, sport

So did you catch the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics earlier today? If not, The Big Picture has quickly got a series of excellent photos of the event, some of my favourites below.

Especially impressive for me were the co-ordinated spectacles involving hundreds of people. Shrinking down the images below to fit in my layout, do the photos no justice, so click on over to Big Picture to see them better!

2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony

Technorati Tags: Beijing, China, Olympic Stadium, Olympics, Olympics coverage, sport

A woman complains about unfairness while policemen try to keep order, as thousands of people wait in line for more than 24 hours to buy Olympic tickets in Beijing, on July 25, 2008.

Unwashed, unfed, and lacking sleep, scores of Chinese queued for their last chance at the tickets, with police straining to hold back crowds that threatened to break barricades. Tickets for the Beijing Games have officially sold out.

Via Activate.us

Technorati Tags: China, Olympic ticket sales, Olympics, sport

Wushu practitioners take part in the last rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, on August 5, 2008.

Via Activate.us

Technorati Tags: China, Olympics, sport, Wushu

This is the 2008 Beijing Olympics Theme Song “Welcome to Beijing“. There are loads of Chinese stars in there - I only recognise a few, but Jackie Chan does pop in a couple of appearances with his vocal chords in action.

Watch and listen to the Beijing Olympics Theme Song below, but be aware that you might get nothing else on TV after 8/8.

Technorati Tags: Beijing Olympics Theme Song, China, Jackie Chan, sport, Welcome to Beijing

Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn, whose Monkey : Journey to the West was previously posted, have adapted their characters for BBC Sport for their Olympics coverage.

As with their show, the use of Monkey and co is based upon the traditional Chinese folklore tale, Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, and in a trailer, Monkey and the inimitable Pigsy make their way on a Journey to the East, ultimately to the bird’s nest-like National Stadium in Beijing.

The lavish two-minute trailer apparently took twelve weeks to complete, using the team of four senior key animators and five animation assistants, and the track features traditional Chinese instruments (such as the Pipa, Ur Hu and Zheng) and etheral vocals from singer Jia Ruhan.

With a slight reference to Chinese culture, pairing Monkey with the Olympics for me, adds a bit of colour and fun to the BBC. I’m a fan of Hewlett’s style, and if you check out the site, there are downloadables for your phone and a desktop widget to stay up to date with the news from five chosen Olympic sports.

See more on the BBC’s Monkey Olympics website

From Creative Review

Technorati Tags: BBC Sport, Beijing, China, Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, MONKEY KING, Monkey: Journey To the West, Olympics coverage

Workers clean the exterior of the National Aquatics Center in Beijing, on July 18, 2008.

With less than a month to go until the Olympics, Beijing has asked polluting industries to cease or reduce production.

The government hopes to clean the air for athletes, and to help offset a looming power shortage.

Via Activate.us

Technorati Tags: Beijing, China, cleaners, National Aquatics Center, Olympics

NBA stars Yao Ming and Lebron James unite after an initial CGI ego flarring. Yao Ming conjures up the typical Chinese dragon and pandas.

This is the third spot from Coca-Cola for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Update : Oops - seems the embedded video isn’t coming up here. Check it out on Spaceinvaders.com instead..

Via NotCot

Technorati Tags: Coca-Cola, Lebron James, Yao Ming