The Olympics have officially started! There were worries that it was going to rain on the day of the Opening ceremony, but it held off and was definitely a night to remember! I watched the ceremony on large screen with all my friends in Ditan Park. It was such a great atmosphere with many people from other countries, such as the USA, Spain, Italy and of course Great Britain! The ceremony started with a dramatic drummed countdown, while fireworks exploded over the National Stadium. Apparently it was watched by 91,000 people in the arena with an audience of 4 billion worldwide. The ceremony lasted over 3 hours with more than 200 countries gathered in the stadium. To top it all off, Li Ning an 1984 gold medallist was raised to the roof of the Bird’s Nest by wires and ran around the edge of the stadium before lighting the torch tower!  I cannot wait for the next 16 days of the Games.

Hello everyone or G’day mate as my Aussie colleagues would say.

By any chance did any of you get to watch the Olympic opening ceremony. I didn’t and I’m here in Beijing. Only joking. I wasn’t in the Birdsnest but I was watching on a big screen in a park near the lama temple with 3,ooo other spectators.

Originally we all had plans to go and watch the ceremony outside the Birdsnest but with security being tight and the constant checks, we decided against it. Also the fact that there was 1 million viewers outside the stadium also had a rather large influence.

What did happen during the ceremony though is that my colleagues and I suddenly realised the Olympics were upon us and it added more excitement to the evening. We have all been out here for so long now it has felt like a long vacation with a bit of work in between. But now work really begins.

Although I am only a volunteer, after watching the ceremony I realised what a special event the games are. They are the one sporting event where the whole world turns its eyes for a fortnight and it is the only one which follows strict traditional guidelines and has created Olympic values and protocol.

The values consist of enjoyment, competitiveness, honesty and all the things that are good in people. From what I have seen so far in Beijing the Games unite a country and many of its inhabitants which can only make it a stronger nation. I can only hope that come 2012 the same happens with Britain.

I would like to end this brief little chatter by saying how wonderful the whole set up for the opening ceremony was and that I will be working  at the Birdsnest at some point during the Olympics. I only have one wish and that would be to do it all again. Although I want to pose one question to everyone. Can London top Beijings opening ceremony?

Please comment on this and I will let you know my thoughts, anyway I best get back to work. Hang on, how can the Olympics be work? I just feel honoured to be a part of it.

Speak to you soon, and please drop more comments and I will add more photos and video footage soon. Hopefully.