Opening ceremony takes gold

By Matthew Engel

Published: August 8 2008 19:20 | Last updated: August 8 2008 19:20

The most certain victory of the Olympic Games was duly ratified on Friday when China won the gold medal in the opening ceremony competition – presumably for all time.

No country ever has – or surely will – match the Chinese in the effort, human power, synchronicity, ingenuity and, it has to be said, money they were willing to put into what was once a little show to start a big sporting event. Now it is an enormous show and a gigantic event.

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