June 22, 2001
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Fireworks lit the sky, flags were waving and people danced in the street as Beijing erupted in celebration after the International Olympic Committee announced the city will host the 2008 Olympic Games. Crowds of people watched the vote in the Chinese capital, cheering as one as outgoing IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch made the announcement in Moscow Friday. IOC delegates voted in Moscow to award the 2008 Games to Beijing ahead of rival cities Paris, Toronto, Istanbul and Osaka. Beijing won on the second round of a secret ballot, receiving 56 votes. It defeated Toronto (22), Paris (18) and Istanbul (nine). Osaka was eliminated in the first round of voting, with six votes The decision exorcizes the demons of Beijing's failed bid in 1993 to secure the 2000 games, which it lost to Sydney by a mere two votes. The 2008 Games will be the first to be held in China, the world's most populous nation with 1.3 billion people, and the first held in an Asian city since Seoul staged the 1988 Games. In awarding the 2008 Games to Beijing, IOC delegates looked beyond controversy surrounding China's poor human rights record and instead focused on its capacity to stage an Olympics and the support of its 13 million residents. Beijing has committed nearly $22 billion for improvements to its infrastructure and environment in the lead-up to 2008, and for the construction of an array of new sporting facilities including an 80,000-seat National Stadium.