The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 p.m. China Standard Time (UTC+8) on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number in Chinese culture. Featuring more than 15,000 performers, the ceremony lasted over four hours and cost over $100 million USD to produce.
Direction
Zhang Yimou weaponized 15,000 performers into pure spectacle.
Practical Effects
Real humans doing impossible things—no CGI, all sweat.
Production
$100 million for four hours. Hollywood wishes.
Director
Zhang Yimou
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 8:08 p.m. start time on 08/08/08 wasn't coincidence—eight sounds like 'wealth' in Mandarin.
Zhang Yimou had never directed live events before this; he was purely a film auteur until China called.
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