The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
(BEIJING, August 24) -- The wonderful performance in the "Bird's Nest" on Sunday, August 24, was attributable to the unimaginable efforts of the artistic staff.
Unlike the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, which came about after several rehearsals, the performers for the Closing Ceremony did not have a chance to conduct a comprehensive rehearsal because of space limitations. The "Bird's Nest" was engaged with Olympic competitions until noon of August 24, and the artistic team had only half a day to do an on-scene rehearsal. Normally, two to three days are needed to just set the stage for a performance of such a size!
The actors moved quickly to meet the challenge: they practiced separately on different makeshift grounds on August 19, 20, and 21, and placed the "Memory Tower," a 30-ton stage property, underneath the football turf beforehand in preparation for the ceremony.
The actors first studied the "Bird's Nest" in June to get acquainted with the stage environment. To yield ample time for Opening Ceremony actors, the Closing Ceremony staff had to work on a schedule from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., daily.
Actors selected from military troops played an important role in the performance on the "Memory Tower." They underwent intense training to adapt to meticulously designed movements. They were dizzy even at the first level of the stage upon taking on the task, but were able to climb to a point of more than 20 meters above ground in just over 10 seconds at the final rehearsal, which features lots of artistic acts in midair.
