The 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Chinese: 第二十九届夏季奥林匹克运动会; pinyin: Dì Èrshíjiǔ Jiè Xiàjì Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì) and commonly known as Beijing 2008, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from 8 to 24 August 2008. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 28 sports and 302 events (a total of one event more than the schedule of the 2004 Games). China became the 22nd nation to host the Olympic Games and the 18th to hold a Summer Olympic Games. It was the third time that the Summer Olympic Games were held in East Asia and Asia, after Tokyo, Japan, in 1964 and Seoul, South Korea, in 1988.

The equestrian events were held in Hong Kong, making it the third time the events of the same Olympics were held under the jurisdiction of two different NOCs, while sailing was contested in Qingdao, and football events took place in several different cities.

Beijing was awarded the Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, having won a majority of votes from members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after two rounds of voting. The Government of the People's Republic of China promoted the Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transportation systems. A total of 37 venues were used to host the events, including 12 constructed specifically for use at the Games. The official logo of these Olympic Games, titled "Dancing Beijing", refers to the host city by featuring a stylized calligraphic character jīng (京, meaning capital). The Games were the most watched Olympics in history, attracting 4.7 billion viewers worldwide. Some politicians and non-governmental organizations criticized the choice of China as Olympic host because of the country's human rights record, and protests by critics of China's human rights record, with particular focus on Tibet, marred the international portion of the Olympic torch relay.

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