The capital of the Middle Kingdom hosted the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. After Tokyo 1964, Sapporo 1972, Seoul 1988 and Nagano 1998, for the fifth time the Games went to Asia, the most populated continent in the world. The city of Beijing alone has almost 18 million inhabitants.  Before the event, the Olympic Games attracted all the dissent and questions about China; once over, they were the Games of all the superlatives.

The Games began with the amazing Opening Ceremony in the symbolic National Stadium, nicknamed the “Bird’s Nest”, which delighted almost 90,000 spectators, as well as several hundreds of millions of people worldwide watching on TV. 

In Beijing, more than 40 world records and over 130 Olympic records were broken, illustrated in particular by the phenomenal US swimmer, Michael Phelps, and the incredible Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt; but also the astounding South African, Natalie du Toit, a leg amputee, who competed in the 10km swimming marathon. 

The organisation was unanimously qualified as excellent, from the magnificent venues to the innovative and highly aesthetic infrastructures. A total of 204 National Olympic Committees took part, i.e. three more than at the previous Games in 2004 in Athens: Montenegro on the edge of the Adriatic Sea, Tuvalu in Polynesia and the Marshall Islands in Micronesia. The Games offered an unprecedented opportunity to promote dialogue and understanding between different cultures. 

There were more and stricter anti-doping tests than ever before: nearly 5,000, of which 30 per cent were unannounced. Not forgetting the people’s incredible passion, demonstrated through the deployment of nearly half-a-million volunteers, who offered their assistance to the athletes, spectators and other visitors. 

While the Beijing Games were a dream from the first to the last day of competition - “One World, One Dream” - they left the city, and the entire country, with an undeniable legacy in the areas of public health, infrastructure and transport.

Medals by country