The ceremony is something that no democratic nation would want to do. But I prefer to put aside all the politics for a moment and just acknowledge the effort that was put into it. Wishful thinking it may be, but I am entitled to such a right.

And the sheer scale of the ceremony – it defies imagination. The saying that China has nothing but people is certainly true. Just look at the amount of manpower that went into the entire thing. Those are some serious numbers we are talking about.

I thought the lighting of the Torch during the 1992 Games at Barcelona was good, but this one was pretty impressive too. It was a scared moment as that retired athlete lit the Torch – everyone watching held their breath as the flame came into all its glory. It certainly does make one proud to be Chinese.

Of course, there will always be the problem of politics, as Panther has said. Being an international stage, the Olympics is a good place for people to rise their voices. We can only hope that it won’t go overboard this year.