080808

I don't think anyone could have missed that today is the first day of the 2008 Bejing Summer Olympics. 080808 at 08.08 they started the opening ceremony, because for the Chinese, the nr 8 is the lucky number. I watched a little bit of it this afternoon, but failed to see both Sweden and NZ marching in, and missed the fireworks too. Ah well, will try and catch the summary of it all later tonight.



I wondered a bit about Brunei's participation in the Olympics, so I googled and found the following information on Wikipedia: "Brunei, as Brunei Darussalam, first participated at the Olympic Games in 1988, with a single official but no athletes. The nation has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since 1996. Brunei has never participated in the Winter Olympic Games. Brunei has never won an Olympic medal."

I also read in the news, that Brunei was excluded from the 2008 Olympics - today! Apparently, the International Olympic Committee excluded Brunei from the games after they failed to register any of its athletes. They had until midnight ahead of today's ceremony, but missed the deadline.
I feel so sorry for those two athletes involved, a 15-year-old female swimmer and a shot putter. Must be absolutely awful to see your Olympic dreams get crushed because of the decision of the your country's Olympic Committee not to register you.