Beijing took the pride in hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics. The matter has been goodly and badly criticized by different media and people. From the logo they have used to the National Stadium (Bird's Nest) they have built in order to house the different game facilities. But these did not stop a must see event. When the Olympics opened people from the four corners of the earth was struck on how spectacular it came out.
Here's a summary of the previous hosts of the past Olympics and what made them stand-out or unique as time went by.
1896 - Athens - Panathenaic Stadium
1900 - Paris - women first joined as participants
1904 - St. Louis - boxing became an Olympic sport
1906 - Athens - unofficial Olympics game
1908 - London - diving became an Olympic sport
1912 - Stockholm - known as the "Swedish Masterpiece"
1916 - Not held because of World War I
1920 - Antwerp - official Olympic flag was raised
1924 - Paris - fictionalized in the movie Chariots of Fire in 1981
1928 - Amsterdam - first Olympic flame, gymnastics for women, track- and-field
1932 - Los Angeles - debuted the victory platform
1936 - Berlin - games were first televised
1940 - Not held - World War II
1944 - Not held - World War II
1948 - London - Wembley Stadium
1952 - Helsinki - East versus West dominated the Olympics
1956 - Melbourne - closing ceremonies were introduced
1960 - Rome - Cassius Clay a.k.a. Muhammad Ali, won a gold medal in light heavyweight boxing
1964 - Tokyo - first use of computers that tabulated results
1968 - Mexico City - drug testing debuted
1972 - Munich - murder of eleven Israeli Olympians
1976 - Montreal - gymnast Nadia Comaneci won three gold medals
1980 - Moscow - largest boycott
1984 - Los Angeles - first time corporate sponsors were used
1988 - Seoul - Ben Johnson, was disqualified for the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs
1992 - Barcelona - the "Dream Team" of USA from professional NBA players
1996 - Atlanta - pipe bomb exploded in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park
2000 - Sydney - Juan Antonio Samaranch's wife died
2004 - Athens - terrorism concerns after the 9/11 attack
2008 - Beijing - the famous Bird's Nest (Beijing National Stadium)
This is by far another mark in the history of the Olympics game. China has made it not only for the year 2008 but for all time.
