历史最佳：鸟巢提供“分层的亲密空间”

　　尽管“鸟巢”美丽，但在开幕式中扮演的角色相对次要。场内9.1万名观众也许感觉不到曾令《纽约时报》(New York Times)建筑评论员兴高采烈的“分层的亲密空间”，此公想必是安排来单独参观的，所以才能感受到这些空间所提供的“意外的私密与孤独时刻”。

　　相反，开幕式上的观众会注意到，热量被看台上方的屋顶遮挡而无法散发，使“鸟巢”里面比外面明显热得多。奥运官方网站称，当时有“微风”(其实当时场内的空气更像燕窝汤)，风力如此之微弱，以至于旗杆内安装了特制的吹风装置，以确保旗子能够飘扬。

　　不过，没有下大雨。但是，上周五晚上什么都不能够抑制中国人展示民族团结并投入欢庆的激情。一位熟悉中国的人士表示，这一场面也许是人们自15世纪明朝鼎盛时期以来从未见过的。

　　204个参加

　　所幸地球不算太大：没有人能够在这种条件下承受更为冗长的运动员入场式，其中包括必须不停跳跳蹦蹦近两小时的官方

　　每一个运动队都得到轮流演奏乐曲的迎接，结果，马里、圣马力诺、黑山和朝鲜的运动队在《苏格兰勇士》(Scotland the Brave)的伴奏下入场，阿曼队则在听上去像是探戈的乐曲声中入场。

　　The Bird's Nest played slightly less of a starring role, beautiful though it is. The 91,000 spectators inside may or may not have noticed the “hierarchy of intimate spaces” allowing for “unexpected moments of privacy and solitude”, which enraptured the architectural critic of the New York Times on his presumably private visit.

　　They will have noticed the heat rising up to the roof over the stands, making the evening considerably hotter inside the stadium than it was outside. The official Olympic website said there was “a soft breeze” – so soft that a special wind machine was installed in the flagpoles to ensure the flags fluttered. The air was more like bird's nest soup.

　　There was no downpour, though. And last night nothing could have dampened Chinese ardour on a night of national unity and celebration, which one old China hand thought might not have been seen in Beijing since the 15th-century heyday of the Ming dynasty.

　　The 204 competing nations and quasi-nations – number 205, Brunei was a last-minute withdrawal – marched or sauntered (according to national taste) round what will become the running track to their appointed places.

　　It's lucky this is not an especially large planet: no one could endure an evening much longer than this in such conditions, least of all the official cheerleaders who were obliged to jig non-stop for nearly two hours.

　　Each team was greeted by music played in rotation so that Mali, San Marino, Montenegro and North Korea were piped in to the tune of Scotland the Brave; Oman had what sounded like the tango.