A lot of comparisons will be made about tonight’s opening games in Vancouver with the amazing spectacle that so dazzled the world at the opening of the Beijing Olympics. We should be dazzled. It was amazing. It was amazing that in a country of 1.2 billion people, they were able to keep the crowds so effortlessly in control. It was amazing the way they were able to keep most of China out of Beijing. It was amazing how they were able to close down half of Beijing’s factories to have a temporary improvement in air quality. It was amazing the military precision with which they paraded thousands of people in lockstep. Oh, and while i’m at it, it was amazing just how young those Chinese gymnasts looked.
The Beijing games represented the best and worst of modern China. Spectacular feats of engineering, organization, talent, progress and well deserved pride – all underwritten by a government that is terrified of loosening its grip on any aspect of society, lest it be overthrown. Those opening events were designed to announce China’s rise to the world, and to demonstrate the power and capability of its all-knowing government at home. This had little to do with the Olympic spirit.
So I, for one, will be thrilled to see a more normal celebration of sport tonight in Vancouver – and not some type of over-the-top exercise of national power. Remember Berlin?
