Participating National Olympic Committees

All but one of the 205 recognized National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that existed as of 2008^[update] participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics, the exception being Brunei.^[69] Three countries participated in the Olympic Games for their first time: the Marshall Islands, Montenegro and Tuvalu.^[70]

While not a full member recognized by the IOC and thus not allowed to compete formally in the Olympics, the Macau Sports and Olympic Committee sent a delegation to participate in the Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008, being the only unrecognized National Olympic Committee to have taken part in the 2008 Summer Olympics. It also coordinated efforts with the Chinese Olympic Committee to organize the torch relay through Macau.

The Marshall Islands and Tuvalu gained National Olympic Committee status in 2006 and 2007 respectively, and 2008 was the first Games in which they were eligible to participate.^[71]^[72] The states of Serbia and Montenegro, which participated at the 2004 Games jointly as Serbia and Montenegro, competed separately for the first time since Serbia last participated in 1912. Montenegro made its debut appearance, as the Montenegrin Olympic Committee was accepted as a new National Olympic Committee in 2007.^[72] Neighboring Kosovo, however, did not participate. After the declaration of independence in Kosovo, the IOC specified requirements that Kosovo needs to meet before being recognized by the IOC; most notably, it has to be recognized as independent by the United Nations.^[73]^[74]^[75] However, it has since been recognised by the IOC in 2014 without fulfilling these criteria and made its debut in the 2016 games.^[76]

More than 100 sovereigns, heads of state and heads of government as well as 170 Ministers of Sport attended the Beijing Olympic Games.^[77]

More information Participating National Olympic Committees ...

Participating National Olympic Committees
Afghanistan (4 athletes) Albania (11) Algeria (56) American Samoa (4) Andorra (5) Angola (32) Antigua and Barbuda (5) Argentina (132) Armenia (25) Aruba (2) Australia (432) Austria (70) Azerbaijan (44) Bahamas (25) Bahrain (14) Bangladesh (5) Barbados (8) Belarus (177) Belgium (94) Belize (4) Benin (5) Bermuda (6) Bhutan (2) Bolivia (7) Bosnia and Herzegovina (5) Botswana (11) Brazil (268) British Virgin Islands (2) Bulgaria (70) Burkina Faso (6) Burundi (3) Cambodia (4) Cameroon (32) Canada (332) Cape Verde (2) Cayman Islands (4) Central African Republic (3) Chad (2) Chile (26) China (599) (host) Colombia (67) Comoros (3) Republic of the Congo (5) Democratic Republic of the Congo (5) Cook Islands (4) Costa Rica (8) Croatia (99) Cuba (158) Cyprus (17) Czech Republic (134) Denmark (84) Djibouti (2) Dominica (2) Dominican Republic (24) Ecuador (25) Egypt (100) El Salvador (11) Equatorial Guinea (3) Eritrea (10) Estonia (47) Ethiopia (27) Fiji (6) Finland (57) France (309) Gabon (4) The Gambia (3) Georgia (35) Germany (420) Ghana (9) Great Britain (304) Greece (152) Grenada (9) Guam (6) Guatemala (12) Guinea (5) Guinea-Bissau (3) Guyana (4) Haiti (7) Honduras (25) Hong Kong (34) Hungary (171) Iceland (27) India (53) Indonesia (24) Iran (54) Iraq (4) Ireland (55) Israel (43) Italy (333) Ivory Coast (21) Jamaica (50) Japan (332) Jordan (7) Kazakhstan (130) Kenya (46) Kiribati (2) North Korea (58) South Korea (265) Kuwait (8) Kyrgyzstan (20) Laos (4) Latvia (47) Lebanon (6) Lesotho (5) Liberia (3) Libya (6) Liechtenstein (2) Lithuania (71) Luxembourg (13) Macedonia (7) Madagascar (6) Malawi (4) Malaysia (32) Maldives (4) Mali (17) Malta (6) Marshall Islands (5) Mauritania (2) Mauritius (11) Mexico (83) Federated States of Micronesia (5) Moldova (29) Monaco (5) Mongolia (28) Montenegro (19) Morocco (47) Mozambique (4) Myanmar (6) Namibia (10) Nauru (1) Nepal (8) Netherlands (237) Netherlands Antilles (3) New Zealand (178) Nicaragua (6) Niger (4) Nigeria (74) Norway (84) Oman (4) Pakistan (21) Palau (5) Palestine (4) Panama (5) Papua New Guinea (7) Paraguay (7) Peru (13) Philippines (15) Poland (257) Portugal (77) Puerto Rico (22) Qatar (20) Romania (101) Russia (454) Rwanda (4) Saint Kitts and Nevis (4) Saint Lucia (4) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2) Samoa (6) San Marino (4) São Tomé and Príncipe (3) Saudi Arabia (14) Senegal (15) Serbia (87) Seychelles (9) Sierra Leone (3) Singapore (25) Slovakia (57) Slovenia (61) Solomon Islands (3) Somalia (2) South Africa (134) Spain (283) Sri Lanka (8) Sudan (9) Suriname (4) Swaziland (4) Sweden (123) Switzerland (83) Syria (7) Chinese Taipei (79) Tajikistan (15) Tanzania (9) Thailand (47) East Timor (1) Togo (4) Tonga (3) Trinidad and Tobago (28) Tunisia (26) Turkey (67) Turkmenistan (10) Tuvalu (3) Uganda (11) Ukraine (243) United Arab Emirates (8) United States (588) Uruguay (12) Uzbekistan (56) Vanuatu (3) Venezuela (108) Vietnam (13) Virgin Islands (7) Yemen (5) Zambia (8) Zimbabwe (13)

Close

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees

More information IOC Letter Code, Country ...

IOC Letter Code	Country	Athletes
CHN	China	599
USA	United States	588
RUS	Russia	467
GER	Germany	463
AUS	Australia	433
ITA	Italy	333
CAN	Canada	332
JPN	Japan	332
FRA	France	323
GBR	Great Britain	312
ESP	Spain	283
BRA	Brazil	268
KOR	South Korea	265
POL	Poland	257
UKR	Ukraine	243
NED	Netherlands	237
NZL	New Zealand	178
BLR	Belarus	177
HUN	Hungary	171
CUB	Cuba	158
GRE	Greece	152
CZE	Czech Republic	134
RSA	South Africa	134
ARG	Argentina	132
KAZ	Kazakhstan	130
SWE	Sweden	123
VEN	Venezuela	108
ROU	Romania	101
EGY	Egypt	100
CRO	Croatia	99
BEL	Belgium	94
SRB	Serbia	87
DEN	Denmark	84
NOR	Norway	84
MEX	Mexico	83
SUI	Switzerland	83
TPE	Chinese Taipei	79
POR	Portugal	77
NGR	Nigeria	74
LTU	Lithuania	71
AUT	Austria	70
BUL	Bulgaria	70
COL	Colombia	67
TUR	Turkey	67
SLO	Slovenia	61
PRK	North Korea	58
FIN	Finland	57
SVK	Slovakia	57
ALG	Algeria	56
UZB	Uzbekistan	56
IRL	Ireland	55
IRI	Iran	54
IND	India	53
JAM	Jamaica	50
EST	Estonia	47
LAT	Latvia	47
MAR	Morocco	47
THA	Thailand	47
KEN	Kenya	46
AZE	Azerbaijan	44
ISR	Israel	43
GEO	Georgia	35
HKG	Hong Kong	34
ANG	Angola	32
CMR	Cameroon	32
MAS	Malaysia	32
MDA	Moldova	29
MGL	Mongolia	28
TRI	Trinidad and Tobago	28
ETH	Ethiopia	27
ISL	Iceland	27
CHI	Chile	26
TUN	Tunisia	26
ARM	Armenia	25
BAH	Bahamas	25
ECU	Ecuador	25
HON	Honduras	25
SIN	Singapore	25
DOM	Dominican Republic	24
INA	Indonesia	24
PUR	Puerto Rico	22
CIV	Ivory Coast	21
PAK	Pakistan	21
KGZ	Kyrgyzstan	20
QAT	Qatar	20
MNE	Montenegro	19
CYP	Cyprus	17
MLI	Mali	17
PHI	Philippines	15
SEN	Senegal	15
TJK	Tajikistan	15
BRN	Bahrain	14
KSA	Saudi Arabia	14
LUX	Luxembourg	13
PER	Peru	13
VIE	Vietnam	13
ZIM	Zimbabwe	13
GUA	Guatemala	12
URU	Uruguay	12
ALB	Albania	11
BOT	Botswana	11
ESA	El Salvador	11
MRI	Mauritius	11
UGA	Uganda	11
ERI	Eritrea	10
NAM	Namibia	10
TKM	Turkmenistan	10
GHA	Ghana	9
GRN	Grenada	9
SEY	Seychelles	9
SUD	Sudan	9
TAN	Tanzania	9
BAR	Barbados	8
CRC	Costa Rica	8
KUW	Kuwait	8
NEP	Nepal	8
SRI	Sri Lanka	8
UAE	United Arab Emirates	8
ZAM	Zambia	8
BOL	Bolivia	7
HAI	Haiti	7
JOR	Jordan	7
MKD	Macedonia	7
PNG	Papua New Guinea	7
PAR	Paraguay	7
SYR	Syria	7
ISV	Virgin Islands	7
BER	Bermuda	6
BUR	Burkina Faso	6
FIJ	Fiji	6
GUM	Guam	6
LIB	Lebanon	6
LBA	Libya	6
MAD	Madagascar	6
MLT	Malta	6
MYA	Myanmar	6
NCA	Nicaragua	6
SAM	Samoa	6
AND	Andorra	5
ANT	Antigua and Barbuda	5
BAN	Bangladesh	5
BEN	Benin	5
BIH	Bosnia and Herzegovina	5
CGO	Republic of the Congo	5
COD	Democratic Republic of the Congo	5
GUI	Guinea	5
LES	Lesotho	5
MHL	Marshall Islands	5
FSM	Federated States of Micronesia	5
MON	Monaco	5
PLW	Palau	5
PAN	Panama	5
YEM	Yemen	5
AFG	Afghanistan	4
ASA	American Samoa	4
BIZ	Belize	4
CAM	Cambodia	4
CAY	Cayman Islands	4
COK	Cook Islands	4
GAB	Gabon	4
GUY	Guyana	4
IRQ	Iraq	4
LAO	Laos	4
MAW	Malawi	4
MDV	Maldives	4
MOZ	Mozambique	4
NIG	Niger	4
OMA	Oman	4
PLE	Palestine	4
RWA	Rwanda	4
SKN	Saint Kitts and Nevis	4
LCA	Saint Lucia	4
SMR	San Marino	4
SUR	Suriname	4
SWZ	Swaziland	4
TOG	Togo	4
BDI	Burundi	3
CAF	Central African Republic	3
COM	Comoros	3
GEQ	Equatorial Guinea	3
GAM	The Gambia	3
GBS	Guinea-Bissau	3
LBR	Liberia	3
AHO	Netherlands Antilles	3
STP	São Tomé and Príncipe	3
SLE	Sierra Leone	3
SOL	Solomon Islands	3
TGA	Tonga	3
TUV	Tuvalu	3
VAN	Vanuatu	3
ARU	Aruba	2
BHU	Bhutan	2
IVB	British Virgin Islands	2
CPV	Cape Verde	2
CHA	Chad	2
DJI	Djibouti	2
DMA	Dominica	2
KIR	Kiribati	2
LIE	Liechtenstein	2
MTN	Mauritania	2
VIN	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2
SOM	Somalia	2
NRU	Nauru	1
TLS	East Timor	1

Close

National participation changes

Athletes from the Republic of China (Taiwan) competed at the 2008 Games as Chinese Taipei (TPE) under the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag and used the National Banner Song as their official anthem. The participation of Taiwan was briefly in doubt because of disagreements over the name of their team in the Chinese language and concerns about Taiwan marching in the Opening Ceremony next to the special administrative region of Hong Kong. A compromise based at the Nagoya Protocol about the naming was reached some months before the opening ceremonies, and Taiwan was referred to during the Games as "Chinese Taipei", rather than "Taipei, China," as the mainland China government had proposed. In addition, the Central African Republic was placed between Taipei and Hong Kong,China on protocol order.^[78]

Starting in 2005, North Korea and South Korea held meetings to discuss the possibility of sending a united team to the 2008 Olympics.^[79]^[80] The proposal failed, because of disagreements about how athletes would be chosen; North Korea was demanding a certain percentage representation for its athletes. A subsequent attempt to broker an agreement for the two nations to walk together during the March of Nations failed as well, despite their having done so during the 2000 and 2004 Games.^[81]

On 24 July 2008, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Iraq from competing in the 2008 Olympic Summer Games because of "political interference by the government in sports."^[82]^[83] The IOC reversed its decision five days later and allowed the nation to compete after a pledge by Iraq to ensure "the independence of its national Olympics panel" by instituting fair elections before the end of November. In the meantime, Iraq's Olympic Organization was to be run by "an interim committee proposed by its national sports federations and approved by the IOC."^[84]

Brunei Darussalam was due to take part in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. However, they were disqualified on 8 August, having failed to register either of their two athletes.^[85] The IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said in a statement that "it is a great shame and very sad for the athletes who lose out because of the decision by their team not to register them. The IOC tried up until the last minute, midday Friday 8 August 2008, the day of the official opening, to have them register, but to no avail."^[86] Brunei's Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports issued a press release stating that their decision not to participate was due to an injury to one of their athletes.^[87]

Georgia announced on 9 August 2008, that it was considering withdrawing from the Beijing Olympic Games because of the 2008 South Ossetia war, but it went on to compete while the conflict was still ongoing.^[88]

Participation of athletes with disabilities

South African swimmer Natalie du Toit, whose left leg was amputated following a motor scooter accident, qualified to compete at the Beijing Olympics. The five time gold medalist at the Athens Paralympics in 2004 made history by becoming the first amputee to qualify for the Olympic Games since Olivér Halassy in 1936. She was able to compete in the Olympics rather than the Paralympics because she does not use a prosthetic leg while swimming.^[89] Polish athlete Natalia Partyka, who was born without a right forearm, competed in Table Tennis in the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2008 Paralympic Games.^[90]

Sports

The program for the Beijing Games was quite similar to that of the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens. There were 28 sports and 302 events at the 2008 Games. Nine new events were held, including two from the new cycling discipline of BMX. Women competed in the 3,000-meter (9,843 ft) steeplechase for the first time. Open water swimming events for men and women, over the distance of 10 kilometers (6.2 mi), were added to the swimming discipline. Team events (men and women) in table tennis replaced the doubles events.^[91] In fencing, the women's team foil and women's team saber replaced men's team foil and women's team épée.^{[lower-alpha 6]} Two sports were open only to men, baseball and boxing, while one sport and one discipline were open only to women, softball and synchronized swimming. Equestrian and mixed badminton are the only sports in which men and women compete together, although three events in the Sailing allowed the opportunity for both males and female participants. However, only male participants took part in all three events.^[93]^[94]

The following were the 302 events in 28 sports that were contested at the Games. The number of events contested in each sport is indicated in parentheses (in sports with more than one discipline, as identified by the IOC,^[95] these are also specified).

2008 Summer Olympics Sports Programme

Aquatics
- Diving (8)
- Swimming (34)
- Synchronized swimming (2)
- Water polo (2)
Archery (4)
Athletics (47)
Badminton (5)
Baseball (1)
Basketball (2)
Boxing (11)

Canoeing
- Slalom (4)
- Sprint (12)
Cycling
- BMX (2)
- Road (4)
- Track (10)
- Mountain bike (2)
Equestrian
- Dressage (2)
- Eventing (2)
- Jumping (2)

Fencing (10)
Field hockey (2)
Football (2)
Gymnastics
- Artistic (14)
- Rhythmic (2)
- Trampoline (2)
Handball (2)
Judo (14)
Modern pentathlon (2)
Rowing (14)
Sailing (11)

Shooting (15)
Softball (1)
Table tennis (4)
Taekwondo (8)
Tennis (4)
Triathlon (2)
Volleyball
- Beach volleyball (2)
- Volleyball (2)
Weightlifting (15)
Wrestling
- Freestyle (11)
- Greco-Roman (7)

In addition to the official Olympic sports, the Beijing Organizing Committee was given special dispensation by the IOC to run a wushu competition in tandem with the Games. The 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament saw 128 athletes from 43 countries participate, with medals awarded in 15 separate events; however, these were not to be added to the official medal tally since Wushu was not on the official program of the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[96]

Calendar

In the following calendar for the 2008 Summer Olympics, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport were held. Each bullet in these boxes is an event final, the number of bullets per box representing the number of finals that were contested on that day. On the left, the calendar lists each sport with events held during the Games, and at the right how many gold medals were won in that sport. There is a key at the top of the calendar to aid the reader.^[97]

All dates are Beijing Time (UTC+8)

More information August 2008, 6th Wed ...

August 2008		6th Wed	7th Thu	8th Fri	9th Sat	10th Sun	11th Mon	12th Tue	13th Wed	14th Thu	15th Fri	16th Sat	17th Sun	18th Mon	19th Tue	20th Wed	21st Thu	22nd Fri	23rd Sat	24th Sun	Events
Ceremonies				OC																CC	—
Aquatics	Diving					1	1	1	1		●	●	1	●	1	●	1	●	1		46
	Marathon swimming															1	1
	Swimming				●	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
	Synchronized swimming													●	●	1		●	1
	Water polo					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	●		1
Archery					●	1	1	●	●	1	1										4
Athletics											2	4	6	6	5	3	6	7	7	1	47
Badminton					●	●	●	●	●	●	1	2	2								5
Baseball/Softball
	Baseball								●	●	●	●		●	●	●		●	1		2
	Softball							●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	1				2
Basketball					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Boxing					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	4	6	11
Canoeing	Slalom						●	2	●	●	2										16
Canoeing	Sprint													●	●	●	●	6	6		16
Cycling	Road cycling				1	1			2												18
	Track cycling										1	3	1	2	3
	BMX															●		2
	Mountain biking																		2
Equestrian					●	●	●	2	●	1	●	●	●	1	1		1				6
Fencing					1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1								10
Field hockey						●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1		2
Football		●	●		●	●		●	●		●	●		●	●		1	●	1		2
Gymnastics	Artistic				●	●		1	1	1	1	●	4	3	3	EG					18
	Rhythmic																●	●	1	1
	Trampolining											●		1	1
Handball					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Judo					2	2	2	2	2	2	2										14
Modern pentathlon																	1	1			2
Rowing					●	●	●	●	●		●	7	7								14
Sailing					●	●	●	●	●		●	●	3	2	2	2	2				11
Shooting					2	2	2	2	1	2	1	2	1								15
Table tennis									●	●	●	●	1	1	●	●	●	1	1		4
Taekwondo																2	2	2	2		8
Tennis						●	●	●	●	●	●	1	3								4
Triathlon														1	1						2
Volleyball	Beach volleyball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1			4
Volleyball	Indoor volleyball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	4
Weightlifting					1	2	2	2	2		2	1	1	1	1						15
Wrestling								2	2	3		2	2		2	2	2				18
Daily medal events					7	14	13	19	17	15	18	27	37	18	20	11	21	21	32	12	302
Cumulative total					7	21	34	53	70	85	103	130	167	185	205	216	237	258	290	302	302
August 2008		6th Wed	7th Thu	8th Fri	9th Sat	10th Sun	11th Mon	12th Tue	13th Wed	14th Thu	15th Fri	16th Sat	17th Sun	18th Mon	19th Tue	20th Wed	21st Thu	22nd Fri	23rd Sat	24th Sun	Events

Close

OC	Opening ceremony	●	Event competitions	1	Gold medal events	EG	Exhibition gala	CC	Closing ceremony

Records

125 Olympic records including 37 world records were set in various events at the Games. In swimming, sixty-five Olympic swimming records including 25 world records were broken because of the use of the LZR Racer, a specialized swimming suit developed by NASA and the Australian Institute of Sport.^[98] Only two swimming Olympic records remained intact after the Games.

Opening ceremony

Before the event started, the People's Liberation Army Navy Band performed the Welcome March song as delegations of both IOC and the Chinese government, led by Jacques Rogge and Hu Jintao, entered Beijing National Stadium (The Bird's Nest).^[99] The opening ceremony officially began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time (UTC+8) on 8 August 2008. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture, and the ceremonial start comprised a triple eight for the date and one extra for time (close to 08:08:08 pm).^[100] The ceremony was co-directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and Chinese choreographer Zhang Jigang^[101] and featured a cast of over 15,000 performers.^[102] The ceremony lasted over four hours and was reported to have cost over US$100 million to produce.^[103] UNGA President Miguel d'Escoto and leaders from 105 countries and territories attended this ceremony.

A rich showcase of ancient Chinese art and culture dominated the ceremony cultural segments. It opened with the beating of Fou drums for the countdown. Subsequently, a giant scroll was unveiled and became the show's centerpiece. The official song of the 2008 Summer Olympics, titled "You and Me", was performed by Britain's Sarah Brightman and China's Liu Huan, on a large spinning rendition of the globe.^[104] As the Olympic Charter determines the parade of nations section, is lead by the Greek team, which hosted the previous games, entered first in honour of its status as the Olympic birthplace. They were led by judoka Ilias Iliadis. Meanwhile, the Chinese team entered last as the host country, led by NBA's Houston Rockets superstar Yao Ming and earthquake survivor Lin Hao, who was just 9 years old. The last torchbearer in the Olympic Torch was the gymnast legend Li Ning ignited the cauldron, after being suspended into the air by wires and completing the relay last 400m of the National Stadium at roof height.^[105]

The opening ceremony was lauded by spectators and various international presses as "spectacular" and "spellbinding".^[8] Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the XXIX Olympiad, called the ceremony "a grand, unprecedented success."^[106]

Closing ceremony

The 2008 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony concluded the Beijing Games on 24 August 2008. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time (UTC+8) and took place at the Beijing National Stadium.

The Ceremony included the handover of the Games from Beijing to London. Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing handed over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, followed by a performance organized by London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This presentation included performances by guitarist Jimmy Page and recording artist Leona Lewis. Footballer David Beckham was also featured during London's presentation.^[107]