The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
(BEIJING, December 29) -- At 10:45 p.m. on December 31, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and Aokang Group, the official leather goods supplier of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, will be holding a spectacular New Year's Eve celebration at the China Millennium Monument to ring in 2008 -- the year of the Beijing Olympics.
Singers Jackie Chan, Kris Phillips, Yan Weiwen, Tan Jing, Han Lei and Shang Wenjie will be at the scene to give performances of the Olympic songs.
And when the clock strikes 12, various renowned Chinese figures, including actor Jackie Chan, pianist Lang Lang, director Zhang Yimou and dancer Tai Lihua, will ring the Millennium Monument Bell to ring in the new year; the words, "We Are Ready" will be unveiled to light up the scene; and the skies will be alit with fireworks.
The song "We Are Ready" will be performed simultaneously at Beijing's Millennium Monument (the song's Chinese version) and Hong Kong's Causeway Bay (the world debut of the song's English version) by renowned singers.
Phil Grucci, of the renowned American fireworks company, Fireworks by Grucci, has been commissioned to design the pyrotechnic program for the event. Grucci will be trying out some new ideas that will be presented to the rhythm of the music.
Another highlight of the New Year's celebration will be the attendance of Tanzanian marathoner John Stephen Akhwari. During the marathon at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Akhwari stumbled and fell, and severely injured his knee and ankle. But the Olympian continued on despite the pain. He said, "My country did not send me from 7,000 miles to start a race; they sent me to finish the race."
Akhwari was the inspiration for the Olympic song "Hero."
The New Year's Eve celebration at the China Millennium Monument will begin at 8:00 p.m. on December 31, Beijing time. The celebration will last 80 minutes, including musical performances, the ringing of the bell and fireworks.
