Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesIt's official, the Winter Olympics 2022 bid that no one wanted goes to...Beijing!
The winner was announced by the International Olympic Committee this morning, making the city the first in history to host both the Summer and Winter games. Beijing kind-of-narrowly beat out Almaty, Kazakhstan for the honor, but it wasn't actually as big of a competition as it sounds...the cities were the only two in the running. Oslo, Munich and Stockholm all decided to bow out of the running due to public pressure, making this possibly one of the most lackluster Olympic announcements in recent memory.
But no matter, because China gets to host another Games! And more importantly, China gets to host another Opening Ceremony. Cue the super dangerous pyrotechnics and the semi-creepy child dance troupes!
To celebrate this not-very-momentous announcement, we decided to look back at the last time the Olympics hit Beijing: 2008. It was a competition for the ages, so we picked a few moments that we'd like to see again. And a few we wouldn't mind forgetting.
1. That time Michael Phelps casually won eight (eight!!) gold medals.
2. When Nastia Liukin was literally the cutest human on the entire planet.
3...Followed closely by Shawn Johnson, of course.
4. Usain Bolt. Just...everything about him.
6. Every totally insane, trippy, stroke-inducing stunt of the Opening Ceremonies.
7. Especially these guys.
8. Or these.
And then there were some moments that shouldn't really be repeated ever, whether it's at the next Beijing Olympics or not. Like the fact that members of the Chinese Gymnastics team was probably competing illegally with underage athletes.
Or the time the taekwondo black belt kicked a referee in the head.
And actually, we would probably sleep a little better if the 2022 Opening Ceremonies were decidedly less night-mare inducing. But then again, what would be the fun in that? So we'll just say cheers to sportsmanship in 2022!