The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
(BEIJING, August 24) -- Song and dance dominated chapter three of the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and saw a vast line-up of singers at the center of stage.
The creative team for the Closing Ceremony enlisted a mixed line-up of well-known Chinese and foreign singers for the evening. With the song "Beijing, Beijing, I Love Beijing" full of dynamic rhythm and adaptable to a chorus of athletes and spectators, the music supervisors chose a combination of singers from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, the United States and the Republic of Korea, including Tan Jing, Shi Peng, Han Xue, Kelly Chan, Wang Lihong and Rain. The line-up of singers met the requirements of the song and embodied the concept that the Olympics are a grand gathering of people from around the world.
The program did was not lacking in Chinese folk songs. For instance, "The Moon Is Bright Tonight" is both traditional and modern in style and required seven Chinese folk singers to perform. Donning national costumes, Zhang Ye, Zhang Can, Zhang Yan,Chen Sisi and others performed their respective interpretations of the song.
The song "Surpass It" embodies the spirit of striving for the best results under the Olympic flame and characterizes athletes from around the world. Chinese singers Wei Wei and Sun Nan put forth their best artistic qualities.
The song "The Flame of Love" was specially created for the Closing Ceremony, and the ensemble of singers embodied a unique integration of Chinese and Western styles. Music fans can find Chinese musical elements like those present in the popular song "Jasmine Flower" and can experience the vigor and firm tunes of bel canto in Western music. Song Zuying and Placido Domingo, representing different styles, were chosen to perform. It was the first time that a mix of Chinese and Western singing styles was brought to the stage.
The last song on the program was "Please Stay, Guests from Afar," which expresses the host country's desire for guests to keep their memories of Beijing fresh. A number of icons like Jakie Chan, Andy Lau,Joey Yung, Wang Feng also joined the ensemble.
