2008 Beijing Olympics: It's OVER! Onto London 2012

The 2008 Beijing Olympics have officially come to an end. The stadiums are silent. The medals have been given out. The athletes have left. I cant believe the Olympics are already over. After spending soo long perparing for it, the 16 days quickly passed and we're now at Post-Olympics Day 2.

Walking around the streets of Beijing, I feel like there is something missing. For the previous 2 weeks, my first instinct when I woke up in the morning was to turn on the TV and watch Olympic coverage. While there are still some coverage on the local stations, and some rebroadcasts of certain events, it definitely feels like i'm going through some type of withdraw.

At this current moment, i'm watching a rebroadcast of the closing ceremonies. It was a great way to end a specactacular games. There was glamor, spector, symbolism and feeling put into every bit of it. My favorate part of it was the 3 athletes who unfolded the scrool and thought about the memories of the 16 days of competition, ending with the Olympic song and the putting out of the Olympic flame. Just awesome.

Immediately after the Closing Ceremonies, focus has been put squarely on the London 2012 Games. The concensus is that the spectacular performances have put a ton of pressure on London in what they can come up with. Even the IOC has stated that London souldnt look at it as a compentition to top Beijing's extravaganza.

I just received a email with the response of local British citizens after the closing ceremonies. They are already embarassed and worried about 2012.

"The Chinese did it again the closing was amazing. First class and out of this world. The one negative was the London Show what in the heck was that. In Athens when the Chinese did there welccome to show it was amazing and you knew you where going to get something special in Beijing. I hope that London does better than what they showed to-day."

"It has been a long time that I felt embarrassed for 8 long minutes. I really hope the organizers get there act together for the 2012 Olympics in London, because whether we like it or not the Chinese did a wonderful job from beginning to end. Whether true or false, let us hope the Red Arrows will do a fly past at the opening ceremony in London because that will be something worth watching, unless of course Boris has something up his sleeve to surprise us all."　　
-Rose, Bicester

"The Chinese showed their rich heritage and history in a dignified and beautiful performance. Us? We showed just what a farce 2012 will be. Our country's heritage (prior to the last government!) is one to be proud of. We have customs and a richer history than many others. So why are we showing a logo from the 70's (I'm a designer, it's shocking!) and a display of ageing rock, one-hit wonders, chavs and only modern London? I'm proud to be English, but in 2012? I may be moving..."
-Angela, Chesterfield

Good Luck London. My mom and I will be there in 4 years to cheer the Olympics on! 奥运加油！