The 2008 Olympic Games were launched at a dazzling ceremony in Beijing, as athletes from more than 200 countries gathered in the Bird's Nest Stadium.

Drums, a light show and pyrotechnics began the four-hour ceremony - 29 sets of fireworks, representing each edition of the modern Games, lit up Beijing.

Makelesi Bulikiobo led the Team Fiji contingent into the arena while Li Ning, 1984 gold medalist, lit the Olympic cauldron to close the ceremony.

Hu Jintao, the Chinese President, declared the Games open in front of an audience of more than 80 world leaders and royals, including US President George W Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.