Beijing 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony

Aug 8, 2008

4h 0m

★ 7.9

One World One Dream

Overview

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.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

OBS - Olympic Broadcasting Services

CCTV

IOC - International Olympic Commitee

Beijing 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self

Hu Jintao

Self

Henry Kissinger

Self

Barbara Bush

Self

George H. W. Bush

Self

George W. Bush

Self

Laura Bush

Self

Shimon Peres

Self

Anne, Princess Royal

Self

Lee Myung-bak

Self

Jiang Zemin

Self

Kobe Bryant

Self

Yao Ming

From a vast record of 750 days, 5000 hours, Official Film of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 SIDE A and SIDE B are the official documentaries by Naomi Kawase capturing not only the athletes gathered from all over the world, but also their families, people involved in the Games, volunteers, medical personnel, and protesters shouting for the cancellation of the Olympics.

7.8

Athos

Jun 23, 2016

The Athos peninsula in Greece is one of Europe's last secrets. Over 2000 monks live on Athos - cut off from the outside world. Access is denied to women, tourists are not welcome. Only workers and pilgrims can obtain a visa. The "Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain" attracts people who feel like they are missing something from their modern lives. With the help of three Athos monks, "Athos - A Taste of Heaven" tells the story of the island and its inhabitants in a unique filmed diary style. The film's guiding theme is the path we as people have to find and follow - each and everyone for themselves. "First we must heal our own souls, only then we can help others", is one of Father Galaktions core messages. He lives as a hermit on the holy mountain. Not all monks, however, live as secluded and demure as Father Galaktion. The film team is also received by Father Epiphanios - a gifted and poetic cook who certainly does not disdain the pleasures of life.

6.9

Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations

Apr 21, 1938

Starting with a long and lyrical overture, evoking the origins of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, Riefenstahl covers twenty-one athletic events in the first half of this two-part love letter to the human body and spirit, culminating with the marathon, where Jesse Owens became the first track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.

0.0

An Olympic Family

Jul 29, 2025

The story of Florida gymnast Daiana Casella, who, along with her family and teacher, overcame the obstacles that Down syndrome could put in her way. In addition to her training and preparation for future competitions, Daiana works as an artistic gymnastics teacher for a large number of children with whom she maintains a very special relationship. During the making of the film, Daiana is training for the Berlin 2023 Special Olympics, an event that will conclude her athletic career at the Olympic and world levels.

6.7

Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty

Jun 2, 1938

Part two of Leni Riefenstahl's monumental examination of the 1938 Olympic Games, the cameras leave the main stadium and venture into the many halls and fields deployed for such sports as fencing, polo, cycling, and the modern pentathlon, which was won by American Glenn Morris.

0.0

Bitter Sweet Ballad

Jun 25, 2025

This is a story about youth with music. It all happens at the Dandelion School, Beijing’s first middle school specifically established for the children of migrant workers. Every year when new pupils arrive, Ms. Yuan Xiaoyan, who has worked in the school choir for eight years, would choose a group of music-loving first-years with solid musical foundations to join the choir. A new group of children join the choir while those who have advanced to the second year have to discuss with their families their future choices. For choir members, their music career in middle school will eventually stop due to the pressure of high school entrance examinations and the inevitable parting. But along this journey accompanied by music, they have been savoring the joys and sorrows of their youth, burying them deep in their hearts, and transforming them into growth-promoting nutrients.

No Image

0.0

Initiation

Jan 16, 2016

Three friends fly from Europe to Gabon to undergo a Bwiti initiation ceremony. After ritual bathing, they will eat the root bark of the iboga tree.

6.9

13 Days in France

Sep 27, 1968

This colorful documentary chronicles the events of the 1968 Winter Olympics in France. The events made international celebrities of skater Peggy Fleming and skier Jean-Claude Killy for their gold-medal performances. The camera accurately catches the speed of bobsleds and downhill racers and ski jumpers as they race for the gold. President Charles DeGaulle is shown observing the action over 13 days, which saw France earn the best performance to date in the winter games.

0.0

Bird's Nest - Herzog & de Meuron in China

Jan 22, 2008

Schaub and Schindelm’s documentary follows two Swiss star architects, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, on two very different projects: the national stadium for the Olympic summer games in Peking 2008 and a city area in the provincial town of Jinhua, China.

0.0

Ancient Olympics: Let the Games Begin

Jan 1, 2004

Come back with us to Ancient Greece, 2,500 Years ago to the original Olympic Games. The ancient Games, like our modern Olympics, included champions and cheaters, glory and scandals, bitter rivalries and contests of strength, speed and savage combat. Set in 448 BC when the pounding of horse's hooves and the brutal hand-to-hand combat could be heard and seen by the crowds that filled the Olympic stadium. This one-hour special event follows the glory and corruption of the arc of a single, five-day Olympiad. The competitions include chariot racing, running, jumping, discus, javelin and two man-to-man combat finals-boxing and pankration, a form of extreme fighting in which death was not uncommon. With the help of sports historians and great athletes such as George Chuvalo and Olympic medallists Donovan Bailey and Angela Schneider, viewers travel back to a very different life-in a very different world.

5.0

0,03 seconds

Apr 13, 2017

A poignant insight into the world of sport, where talent, passion and endurance mean everything, but give no guarantee of success.

9.0

Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team

Jan 8, 2002

At the Winter Olympics of 1980, after two tense weeks amidst growing Cold War fears, the U.S. Olympic hockey team found themselves playing improbably against the legendary unbeatable Soviet Army hockey team for Olympic Gold. From the live footage taken at Lake Placid, NY, and through interviews beginning with the team's assembly through the experience of winning the gold medal.

0.0

Nancy & Tonya

Feb 23, 2014

Mary Carillo looks back at the events leading up to, during and following the ladies’ figure skating competition at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in the one-hour special, “Nancy & Tonya.” The documentary, which originally aired during NBC’s Sochi Olympics coverage, features an exclusive sit-down with Nancy Kerrigan and a one-on-one interview with Tonya Harding.

8.3

Athens 2004: Olympic Opening Ceremony (Games of the XXVIII Olympiad)

Aug 13, 2004

With the Olympics returning to Greece, the opening ceremony of Athens 2004 sought to show the entire development of the Olympics over the centuries, until arriving at the modern Olympics.

0.0

Die kalten Ringe

Jul 19, 2021

19 years after the dropping of atomic bombs in Japan, the Olympic Games of 1964 took place in Tokyo. In the midst of the cold war, the games are supposed to become a symbol for a peaceful world. Especially the divided Germany is expected to prove this: By order of the IOC, both German states must participate in Tokyo with a joint team despite deep ideological rifts. The fact that athletes from both German states still had to compete against each other in order to form a joint team for the 1964 Olympic Games in Innsbruck and in Tokyo is all but forgotten. The film tells the story of the East-West German team of 1964 for the first time and is simultaneously a current document about the relation of sports and politics in international relations.

5.2

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Opening Ceremony: United by Emotion

Jul 23, 2021

Coverage of the glorious Olympic Opening Ceremony of the Games in Tokyo. The 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony took place on 23 July 2021 at Olympic Stadium, Tokyo. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history.

8.2

The Coronation

Jan 14, 2018

The 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II marked the moment when she was formally recognized as England's new sovereign in front of God and her subjects. Three hundred million people tuned in, making it the most watched event in history. Now, for the first time, Her Majesty shares memories of the ceremony. Join us as we unlock a thousand years of coronation secrets and provide an unprecedented, up-close look at the legendary Crown Jewels.

0.0

Olympia 1936. Der verratene Traum

Aug 5, 2016

The film chronicles the story of how the Nazis and the IOC turned, to their mutual benefit, a small sports event into the modern Olympics. The grand themes and controversial issues from the 1936 Games have continued to this day: Monumentality, budget overruns, collusion with authoritarian regimes, corruption and sometimes even bribery.

4.9

Marathon

Jan 1, 1993

A documentary covering the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

7.3

One Day in September

Oct 22, 1999

The full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and the Israeli revenge operation 'Wrath of God.' The 1972 Munich Olympics were interrupted by Palestinian terrorists taking Israeli athletes hostage. Besides footage taken at the time, we see interviews with the surviving terrorist, Jamal Al Gashey, and various officials detailing exactly how the police, lacking an anti-terrorist squad and turning down help from the Israelis, botched the operation.