Beijing 2008, the time China has been waiting for!

After seven years of preparation, billions of dollars of investment, and a mammoth effort to clean up Beijing’s polluted skies, Chinese Olympics officials say they are staging one of the greatest Olympics ever.

The 29th summer games began at 8:08pm Beijing time on Friday – an auspicious time and date in Chinese culture which regards the number eight as lucky.

Details of the opening ceremony had been kept a closely guarded secret, but producers had promised a show that will "amaze the world".

"We have prepared for the Beijing Olympics for seven years and now we are ready … we are very confident indeed that we will stage a successful Olympics," Sun Weide, spokesman for the organising committee, told reporters.
"Of course we hope that these will be a great games, even the greatest."

The day also saw thousands of Chinese couples getting married on one of the most auspicious dates in several years – 08/08/08.

"This day is very meaningful for us because finally the Olympics are here," groom Peng Zhonghua, 23, told Al Jazeera as he signed his wedding vows with his smiling bride at a central Beijing marriage bureau.

The couple said that like many Chinese they planned to spend the evening at home with their families watching the opening ceremony.

Authorities have urged Beijingers without one of the 91,000 tickets to the opening ceremony to watch it at home, rather than try to travel to the Olympic green in the north of the city.

In an effort to avoid congestion, officials announced earlier this week that Friday would be a public holiday.