The sound of 2008 people drumming to the same beat | Opening Ceremony Beijing 2008

Remember one of the biggest goosebump moments of the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony that was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest? It was the moment when 2,008 drummers played the bronze Fou drums and sang the quote from The Analects of Confucius written 2000 years ago: "Isn’t it delightful to have friends coming from afar?” to welcome friends from all over the world. Enjoy watching and tell us your favorite Olympic Memory in the comments.


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[CeramicQuill]

If there ever was a moment for people as a whole to be quiet and listen, this was it.

[iamb]

This gave me chills as I smiled. Now I get why drums were an element of war back in the day. Those things are scary!

[lealaandizzieva]

I can’t imagine actually SEEING and HEARING this in person

[kaideng]

They were repeatedly chanting: "有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎"
Which translates to "We have friends who came from far places. We are ecstatic." It's meant to signal "we welcome your presence."

[rennydanston]

This is so stunning. I can’t imagine how any people it took to orchestrate this, how many hours of rehearsals. Wow.

[stefan]

Much respect to the players for keeping rhythm when the audience randomly starts clapping midway through on completely the wrong tempo.

[elem]

Teacher: please don’t pound on the desks during class

The kids in the back:

[sofia]

This is so healing, this is cleaning me after watching that opening of paris2024 Olympics

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

Twelve years later and Beijing is still my favorite opening ceremony. They really hit it out of the park

[Khymeira]

I would've loved to see the final rehearsal. No audience. Still, this is a spectacle. Humanity's wild.

[janlloydpadiernos]

"Honey, it's just a thunder."

*looks outside the window and see this*

[juanpablotrigos]

2008 people: playing with perfect beat
Someone in the crowd: I'm gonna end this man's whole career. *clap*

[NickRego]

This is like when you're standing between two mirrors in a dressing room

[Brian-sm]

Olympics: ok, let's release this 12 years after the actual event

[windps]

This event matched well on the values of Olympics: excellence, respect and friendship.

[VidralliaArchives]

That moment when there's a kid in the audience who won't stop making noise, but the entire audience is that kid.

[RS-kmrm]

Imagine the bathroom break at the men’s bathroom during rehearsal haha

[_Dawson_]

Can you imagine the pressure of trying not to to be the one guy who screws up?

[sixtogonzaga]

Still the best opening ceremony i have watched. Full of culture and a lot of wow moments

[thegavinjackson]

Imagine being the one guy to beat too early... in front of millions