The Olympic Games were first held in 776 BC and were later closed down by the Roman emperor Theodosius I. Later the first modern Olympic games were held in Athens in April 1896 and since then there is nothing stopping them. Lots of countries like Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Sydney and many more have played host to the Olympics.

The 2008 Summer Olympics will be celebrated from August 8, 2008, to August 24, 2008.The Beijing National Stadium will play host to the opening ceremony. The International Olympic Committee held an extensive meticulous ballot on July 13, 2001, and it was after that, that Beijing was awarded the Olympic games.

The opening ceremony consists of traditional elements and artistic display of dance and theatre which represent the host nation. The first event to take place is the hosting of the country’s flag and presentation of its national anthem. After that there is a parade of the nations in which all the athletes who are participants march in the stadium. Usually, Greece marches in first as it was here that Olympics originated, and the nation playing host that is Beijing would march in last. All the other nations would march between the two nations that is Greece and Beijing.

Beijing’s top artists and engineers and the participants of the cultural programmes are working very hard to make this an unforgettable event. Beijing has its main elements all set. The mascots, the torch, the medals and the theme slogan.

Beijing has Fuwa which mean ‘good-luck’ dolls as their mascots for the Olympic games. The Fuwa takes inspiration from the five Olympic rings and carries a message of friendship, peace and good wishes to all the children in the world. It embodies the natural characteristics of China’s most popular animals- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan antelope, the Swallow and the Olympic Flame. The chinese use signs and symbols to spread good wishes. This is more of an ancient culture that they still imbibe by. The Fuwa carries the invitation of Beijing Olympic Games 2008 to every part of the world to spread prosperity, happiness, health and luck. It is the Olympic spirit that unites the whole world in peace and friendship. The mascot represents the cultural heritage of the nation it belongs to.

Then we have the theme slogan of the Olympic Games; "One World One Dream". The slogan expresses the soul and the values of the Olympic spirit which are- Unity, Harmony, Friendship and Progress. The most interesting part of the Beijing Olympics is the emblem. It is a dancing Chinese Seal with a calliagraphic word for "jing"-the national capital. The "seal" has its arms wide open as it invites the world to the Olympics to celebrate peace and friendship.

Another very important element of The Beijing Olympics are the Medals. The inspiration for its design is taken from China’s ancient jade piece "bi" which is inscribed with dragon pattern. The medal is symbolic of nobleness and personifies honor and ethics. It is made up of gold and jade. These medals will be awarded to the sportsmen who are best in their respective fields of sports.

A lot of partcipation in lots of events is going to take place. There will be events like fencing, rowing, sailing, hockey, handball and many more. There are a total of 302 events out of which 165 will be men’s events and 127 women’s events. Each sport icon is very tastefully designed and is called the ‘beauty of seal characters’.

The Olympic Games are now divided into summer and winter sporting events. They are each held every four years (an Olympiad). They were held in the same year till 1992. Since then, they have been separated two years apart.