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Beijing was, from the start, the clear winner of the 2008 Olympic host city selection process. Why? well, it clearly has a lot to do with security, as well as the controlling effect of the Chinese government. As stated by the International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission, "The overall presence of strong governmental control and support is healthy" for the games, thus China was a natural spot for the 08 games.

The meeting to determine the Host city for 2008 Olympics was the 112th International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting session in Moscow, Russia. Competing with Beijing, the top five contenders included: Toronto - Canada, Paris - France, Istanbul - Turkey, Osaka - Japan. Five other cities (Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and Seville) did send in applications to the IOC for host cities but failed to make the cut.

From the very first round of voting on July 13th 2001, Japan's Osaka was defeated with only 6 votes in favors, while Beijing dominated the competition with 44 votes in favor, trailed by Toronto with 20 votes in favor. Paris had 15 in favor and Istanbul had 17 in favor. But in Round 2 of the voting process, Istanbul lost its lead over Paris, as Paris gained 18 votes while Istanbul only had 9 in favor. Toronto fared a little better as it gained 22 votes in favor but once again, Beijing comes out on the top with 56 votes in favor, clearly marking it as the majority leader in the votes received and as the next host city for 2008 Olympics.

China was extremely proud of its victory, when in the past it had consistently failed to make the cut in the IOC meetings. In 1993, it lost its bid to Australia's Sydney for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. However, China sees this victory for the 08 games as a international referendum on its government and its people's growing importance in the world. Chinese Primer Li Lanqing declared that "The winning of the 2008 Olympic bid is an example of the international recognition of China's social stability, economic progress and the healthy life of the Chinese people." Thus, the games are both a proud moment of Chinese history as well as a reflection on the overall status of the government - a very serious matter in this one party state.

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