Stunning display, UK press says

The British press spoke in praise of the spectacular Beijing Olympics opening ceremony unanimously, calling it the best ever and a stunning display of China's rising confidence.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), also ran live broadcasts of the opening ceremony on its BBC1 and BBC high definition channels.

Huw Edwards, who delivered the commentary with Sue Barker in Beijing, noted China's confidence.

The torch of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is lit at the National stadium in Beijing during the opening ceremony of the Games on August 8, 2008. [Agencies]

A presenter with Eurosport hailed the Games as "bigger than anything imaginable", calling the ceremony an "extraordinary" and "extravagant" presentation.

The Financial Times said "the most certain victory of the Olympic Games was duly ratified on Friday night when China won the gold medal in the opening ceremony competition - presumably for all time".

The paper noted that no country in the world ever has - or will - match the Chinese in effort, human power, synchronicity, and ingenuity.

Calling it an enormous show and a gigantic event, the paper said the first triumph belonged to the evening's auteur Zhang Yimou, who insisted on traditional lines: nationalism with Chinese characteristics.

The Guardian displayed a photo captioned "Beijing Olympics take flight" showing the Bird's Nest being lit up by fireworks.

The Guardian said the ceremony that opened the 29th Olympic Games on Friday night outdid all of its predecessors in numbers, color, demonstrating to the world that the new China intends to make its presence felt.

The Daily Telegraph said: "China marches on to world stage." It published a photograph of hundreds of Chinese dancers wearing feather headdresses to represent the age of Confucius.

The paper said China had showed itself to the world leaders present in the stadium and to a television audience of billions.

The tabloid Daily Mail said Hollywood "will study the DVD of the performances for years to come and plunder Beijing's visual tricks".