At exactly 8.08pm on August 8th 2008, China dazzled the world with an amazing display of fireworks, acrobatics and traditional dancers, to mark the beginning of the 29th Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The highly anticipated four-hour long event, estimated to have cost $100 million USD, took place at the national "Birds Nest' stadium (pictured above). A live audience of 91,000 people, which included American President, George Bush and Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, witnessed the event. It is estimated that over four billion people will watch the ceremonies on television, worldwide.

The ceremony started with an amazing display of over thirty-five thousand fireworks lighting up the Beijing skies. Next, 2008 perfectly synchronized drummers, counted down to the Olympics.

Entitled 'Beautiful Olympics', the art performance showcased China's 5,000-year-old civilization and involved over 16,000 performers, dressed in lavish costumes from different dynasties.

Then came the famous Parade of the Nations, in which over 10,000 athletes from 204 Nations, walked across the stadium, proudly waving their country flags. Beijing broke the age-old tradition of each country appearing in alphabetical order. Instead they marched in a sequence based on the number of strokes it takes to write the country's name in Chinese. Tennis ace, Roger Federer, Basketball whiz, Kobe Bryant and the William sisters got the biggest cheers from the people fortunate enough to watch this amazing event live.

The grand finale and the official beginning of the 29th Olympics happened when the cauldron was lit using the Olympic Torch. This too was done in a spectacular fashion, starring one of China's most celebrated gymnasts, Li Ning. Lifted by computer controlled wires, he pretended to 'run' with the torch to the cauldron, along the stadium's 500-meter long, 14 meter-wide perimeter. In the background, the roofless top of the stadium, which doubles up as gigantic screen, showed videos of the torch's journey around the world with the Olympic torch 'scroll' unfolding at the same time.

Seven years ago, Chinese officials had promised to put up a spectacular opening ceremony and they certainly did - the big question is how will England top this in 2012?

Source: Telegraph.Co.Uk, Xinhuanet.com