The Olympics opening ceremony is being called “triumphant,” and “spectacular,” some commentators are questioning whether such a show was the best use of China’s limited resources. Thomas Boswell writes in the Washington Post:
In four years, London shouldn’t even try to compete with the spectacle that Beijing bestowed upon our wondering eyes in the Opening Ceremonies. No democracy can or should invest the money and manpower that went into this city-wide fireworks-spewing deification of national pride, athletic aspiration and Communist Party self-congratulation. Public money could never be justified for such an insanely exhilarating night. Only a People’s Republic could squander so lavishly.
While the New Zealand Herald says:
The Chinese won’t say but it cost somewhere between US$100m and $300m, according to unconfirmed reports, to stage that vast extravaganza. While the drummers and the human calligraphy and the fireworks and the “burning footprints” were magnificent, it was difficult not to quail at the expense.
$300m bucks? We can only struggle to think of the good that might be achieved with that. China’s own poor, for example. Those who have not yet benefited from China’s massive economic revolution are, by some accounts, doing it hard and $300m would go a long way with a great number.
We can’t blame China for doing what many other nations have done – adapting the opening ceremony so that it is still indeed a welcome to the athletes of the world but, perhaps more significantly, it tends to be a political and nationalistic validation.
The Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post both get reactions to the ceremony from Beijing citizens, while Xinhua’s headline reads: “China’s night of joy, pride as Olympics ceremony captures world.” Read also a review of the show from The Times and the Washington Post, while the Houston Chronicle surmises that, “For China, Olympics may be transforming moment.” Jim Yardley of the New York Times writes:
Any Olympic opening is a propaganda exercise, but Friday night’s blockbuster show demonstrated the broader public relations challenge facing the Communist Party as China becomes richer and more powerful. The party wants to inspire national pride within China, and bolster its own legitimacy in the process, even as leaders want to reassure the world that a rising China poses no danger.
That has not been an easy sales pitch during the tumultuous Olympics prelude, in which violent Tibetan protests and a devastating earthquake revealed the dark and light sides of Chinese nationalism.
But for one night, at least, the party succeeded wildly after a week dominated by news of polluted skies, sporadic protests and a sweeping security clampdown. Across Beijing, the public rejoiced.
Photo by pmt007 via Flickr. See all photos tagged for the 2008 Olympics on Flickr.
