Results tagged “caiguoqiang”

The closing ceremony of the Beijing Games was star-studded and glitzy as promised, but those that came expecting to be wowed off their socks as they were by the opening went away disappointed (read the reactions from China-based twitteratti). After all, Zhang Yimou and company did so spectacularly well in the opening they couldn't have possibly done better. Or could they? Quite frankly, we thought the ceremony was going to end after David Beckham's grand appearance and the Olympic flame was extinguished, but it went on for another good hour or so with Chinese singers belting out one song after another — from traditional Chinese folk tunes to pop to what have you. The grand finale featured performers representing 56 ethnic groups singing, “Please Stay, Guests From Afar,” and as John Branch of the New York Times notes, many of the athletes and fans decided to head for the exits when they realised the happy minorities were taking forever to wave goodbye. The fireworks though were definitely a highlight of the evening and were masterminded by Chinese artist and gunpowder expert Cai Guoqiang, whose personal exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York was the best attended exhibition ever of a solo artist there.