China’s opening ceremony was truly cinematic:

“The Beijing Olympics got under way in spectacular fashion today with a lavish opening ceremony at the Bird’s Nest stadium.

The event mixed China’s millennia of history and hi-tech present as a modern global powerhouse.

The four-hour event, meticulously choreographed by Zhang Yimou, China’s most celebrated film director, ended with the final torch bearer, the former Olympic gymnastics champion Li Ning, being hoisted aloft by invisible wires.

In the style of one of Zhang’s martial arts films, he then ‘ran’ along the rim of the stadium’s roof before igniting the vast Olympic cauldron as thousands of fireworks lit up the skyline.”