The Summer Olympics for 2008 were hosted in Beijing, China. With the Opening Ceremony on August 8, 2008 and events happening until the Closing Ceremony on August 24, 2008, it was, as IOC president Jacques Rogge declared, a "truly exceptional games."

Something interesting to note about the beginning of the Games is that the Opening Ceremony happened on August 8, 2008 at 8:00 pm. The number is considered to be good luck in Chinese culture because it sounds like the word for prosperity in the Chinese language. Therefore, there were four eights (three from the date and one from the time) involved in the Opening Ceremony.

The Games lasted for a little over two weeks and included many different events. Once the games had completed, China had won the most gold medals with 51, though the United States won in total medals with 110. Other countries were not far behind them.