Dancing Beijing is the name of the official emblem of the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, which took place in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It was unveiled on 3 August 2003 in a ceremony attended by 2,008 people at

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial Religious Confucianism, religious Confucian buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and ...

Description

The emblem draws on various elements of

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the Cradle of civilization#Ancient China, world's earliest cultures, said to originate five thousand years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia called the Sinosphere as a whole ...

, depicting a traditional red Chinese seal above the words "Beijing 2008" and the

Olympic rings The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags, and symbols to represent and enhance the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competitions such as the flame, fanfare, and theme as well as those u ...

. The seal is inscribed with a stylised

calligraphic Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

rendition of the Chinese character

京京 is the Han Character, Han character meaning "capital (city)," and the simplified form of the older way of writing the character, 亰. The character is predominantly used in the names of current and former capital cities within the East Asian ...

(''jīng'', meaning 'capital', from the name of the host city) in the form of a dancing figure. The curves are also claimed to suggest the body of a wriggling

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...

. The open arms of the figure symbolise the invitation of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to the world to share in its culture. The figure also resembles that of a runner crossing the finish line. Red, the dominant colour of the emblem, is an important colour in Chinese society, often signifying prosperity.

Design

The logo was created by Guo Chunning (), the vice-president of the "Beijing Armstrong International Corporate Identity" (AICI). There was only one seal among the 1,985 entries contributed by designers from China and overseas. Other entries included dozens of Great Walls,

panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is ...

s and

dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

.English hanban.edu.cn
Other designers include Zhang Wu ().

Unveiling ceremony

International Olympic Committee President

Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator, former athlete, and physician, who served as the eighth president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 201 ...

delivered an address at the unveiling ceremony on 3 August 2003 saying, "Your new emblem immediately conveys the awesome beauty and power of China which are embodied in your heritage and your people." Rogge continued, "In this emblem, I saw the promise and potential of a New Beijing and a Great Olympics. This is a milestone in the history of your Olympic quest. As this new emblem becomes known around the world and, as it takes its place at the centre of your Games, we are confident that it will achieve the stature of one of the best and most meaningful symbols in Olympic history." The ceremony was delayed by several months because of the SARS outbreak in 2003.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em 2008 Summer Olympics Logos