BEIJING OLYMPICS START
President Ilham Aliyev attends opening ceremony
The Beijing Olympics have begun with a spectacular opening at the Bird`s Nest stadium packed with a 90,000-strong crowd on Friday.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the ceremony which saw 15,000 performers in action.
Some 10,500 athletes will compete in 302 events in 28 sports, one event more than in Athens four years ago.
Azerbaijan`s 56-strong team, including trainers and doctors entered the arena behind flag bearer Olympic wrestling champion Farid Mansurov as President Aliyev warmly greeted his fellow countrymen from the stadium`s VIP section.
Azerbaijani athletes, who will compete in 12 sports, including for the first time in equestrian and gymnastics team event, will be in action from Sunday.
The games will be held in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao and Hong Kong.
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