At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing created one of the most unforgettable moments in recent Olympic history, coalescing a symbolic two thousand and eight drummers in the Beijing National Stadium, all playing the same beat.
The official Olympics clip begins with the chanting of 2,008 men, all identically dressed in red and white robes, standing amongst a bronze sea of Chinese Fou drums, an ancient percussion instrument usually used for ritualistic music. The scale of the set-up is crazy in itself, but when the drummers begin moving and playing in the tightest rhythm possible, they made instant history.
With military-style precision, the drummers commence a basic yet powerful dance while standing still behind their large, treasure chest-like instruments. Every few seconds, they beat their drums in unison, the sparsity of their beats making their synchronicity unimaginably more awesome to behold, as the vast stadium falls pin-drop silent to marvel at all unfolding beneath them.
They switch the heavy, clanking strikes of bronze for light, sweeping touches that conjure an odd ambience, carved out by harsh chants before they slam their drums again, echoing perfectly in time. The chants used in this performance are recited from the ancient philosophical book of Confucius, “The Analects,” well-roundedly translating to, “Isn’t it delightful to have friends coming from afar?”
Two-thirds through the short clip, the drummers pick up their glow-in-the-dark drum sticks, the stage lights fall pitch black, and the show-opener’s crowning moment unfolds: the hypnotic movements of 4,000 sticks, suspended in the illusion of mid-air and moving in absolute synchronicity. The Music Man can’t begin to fathom how on Earth these performers were able to practice their chant work and drums to such millisecond perfection, with over 2,000 people among them! The stadium screams and by the time the lights come back, the drummers look somewhere between ecstatic and relieved.
Each country cherry-picks the best of its cultural heritage and eccentricities for its Olympic opening ceremonies, but this performance from Beijing 2008 seemed to step things up a notch and shocked the world in doing so. Notorious animated comedy, South Park ripped on this grandiose moment almost as soon as it aired (check out the hilarious clip above!), but even 15 years later, the original video shows no signs of slowing down, amassing over 8.9 million views in only three years.
The Beijing Olympics opening ceremony pulled in over 15,000 musicians to perform, according to the BBC, and that extortionate number doesn’t include the 2,008 drummers. Other top music moments of the night include China’s superstar classical pianist, Lang Lang, who made his mark on the event, even playing at the countdown to the Beijing Olympics; and Liu Huan, who sang the Olympic theme song, “You and Me” with British vocalist Sarah Brightman.
