同一个世界 同一个梦想 (One World, One Dream) The "Dancing Beijing" emblem, depicting a Chinese seal inscribed with the character "Jīng" (京, from the name of the host city) in the form of a dancing figure.
Host city	Beijing, China
Nations participating	204 NOCs (See below)
Athletes participating	11,028 [1]
Events	302 in 28 sports
Opening ceremony	August 8
Closing ceremony	August 24
Officially opened by	President Hu Jintao
Athlete's Oath	Zhang Yining
Judge's Oath	Huang Liping
Olympic Torch	Li Ning
Stadium	Beijing National Stadium

The Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony was held in Beijing National Stadium with 15,000 performers. The Opening Ceremony in Beijing was the most spectacular Olympics Ceremony ever produced

The following images above were taken from boston.com

 

The Olympic Torch

The Olympic Torch traveled over 5 continents - 21,880 torchbearers have been selected from around the world by various organizations and entities.

The Olympic Flame was carried to the top of Mount Everest.

China greeted the whole world.

Above: The Olympic Torch.

The Olympic Torch Relay Route Around the World

(click on the map below)

Above: The Olympic Torch Relay Route around the world can be found at cnn.com. Please click on the map above to get information on the voyage of the Olympic torch.

Above: Chinese former gymnastics champion Li Ning kindles the cauldron. Image from http://en.beijing2008.cn

 

Main articles: 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay and 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay route

The design of the Olympic Torch is based on traditional scrolls and uses a traditional Chinese design known as the "Propitious Clouds" (祥云). The torch is designed to remain lit in 65 kph (40 mph) winds, temperatures of up to -40°C and in rain of up to 50 mm (2 in) per hour.

The relay, with the theme Journey of Harmony, lasted 130 days and carried the torch 137,000 km (85,000 mi)—the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay since the tradition began at the 1936 Berlin Games.[108][109] So far, the torch relay has been called a "public relations disaster" for China by The Times[110], with protests of China's human rights record, particularly about Tibet.

The relay began March 24, 2008, in Olympia, Greece. From there, it traveled across Greece to Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, and then to Beijing, arriving on March 31. From Beijing, the torch followed a route passing through every continent except Antarctica. The torch visited cities on the Silk Road, symbolizing ancient links between China and the rest of the world. A total of 21,880 torchbearers have been selected from around the world by various organizations and entities.[111]

The international portion of the relay was problematic. The month-long world tour saw wide-scale protests to China's human rights abuses and recent crackdown in Tibet. After trouble in London saw several attempts to put out the flame, the flame was extinguished in Paris the following day.[112] The American leg in San Francisco on 9 April was altered without prior warning to avoid such scenes, although there were still demonstrations along the original route.[113] The relay was further delayed and simplified after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake affecting western China.

The flame was carried to the top of Mount Everest[111] on a 108 km (67 mi) long "highway" scaling the Tibetan side of the mountain especially built for the relay. The $19.7 million blacktop project spanned from Tingri County of Xigazê Prefecture to the Everest Base Camp.[114] In 2008 March, China banned mountaineers from climbing its side of Mount Everest and later persuaded the Nepalese government to close their side as well, officially citing environmental concerns.[115] It also reflected concerns by the Chinese government that Tibet activists may try to disrupt its plans to carry the Olympic torch up the world's tallest peak.[116]

The originally proposed route would have seen the torch carried through Taipei after leaving Vietnam and before heading for Hong Kong. Taiwan authorities, however, objected to this proposal, claiming that this route would make the portion of the relay in Taiwan appear to be part of the torch's domestic journey through China, rather than a leg on the international route.[117] This dispute as well as demands that the flag of the Republic of China and the National Anthem of the Republic of China be banned along the route[118] led the Taiwan authorities to reject the proposal that it be part of the relay route, and the two sides of the Taiwan Strait subsequently blamed each other for injecting politics into the event.[119]