The 29th Olympic Games of modern times, now under way in China, give Africa's athletes a chance to surprise the world with their performances and achievements.
In addition to the 91,000 spectators physically present at the Bird's Nest Stadium, nearly a billion television viewers are expected to follow the games.
The opening ceremony should be rich in emotion, colors, frescos and figures. The slogan of the games, "One world, one dream," will take on all its meaning when thousands of Chinese youngsters draw six tables summarizing more than 5,000 years of the nation's history.
The games' universality will be celebrated by a choir of 15,000 and the discharge of 29,000 fireworks. For three hours, the enormous efforts made by China to make the games attractive will be on display for all to admire.
China's magic number 8
The Olympics promise to be highly popular within China, as attested by the avid attention given to the journey of the Olympic torch across the world and the country.
In China, eight is considered a lucky number. The opening ceremony was thus scheduled to begin on Friday evening, Chinese time, at 8 minutes and 8 seconds after 8pm, this of course on the 8th day of the 8th month of the year 2008.
The Chinese hope this will augur well for the number of medals their athletes win.
Africa's chances
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We can be sure that Africa will sparkle in China, a country of continental scale with which Africa shares many socio-cultural similarities.
Many African heads of state are already in Beijing at the invitation of the Chinese government, along with 80 of their peers from around the world.
African athletes will compete in many disciplines. Kenyan and Ethiopian runners, South African swimmers, Nigerian sprinters, and soccer players from Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Nigeria will likely maintain their winning ways, and there is also a chance of pleasant surprises in other disciplines, such as combat sports, where Africans have not traditionally won.
Africa remains the global leader in athletics and is expected to shine again in China. Haile Gebreselassie, Tirunesh Dibaba, Francoise Mbango, Salomon Kalou, Osaze Odemwinge, Kenenisa Bekele and others have the potential to climb to the highest stairs of the winners' podiums during these games.
Even though Chinese astrology is not yet able to predict accurately the medal count for Africa, one thing is certain—the continent's chances are good. Africa will go further, higher and grow stronger in China.
