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Beijing 2008 Summer Games in Google Earth
By Nick on August 12, 2008
Google has released a fantastic tour of the Beijing Olympics in Google Earth. You can explore it in 2D, but for the 3D buildings, you’ll need to download them from the official 2008 Summer Games by Google page. I found it quite tricky to get all the 3D stuff working, but if your computer can handle it, it’s worth the hassle.
Flying over Beijing during the Olympics reveals a red square with a the symbol of the Olympic torch in it…
Clicking that torch brings up an invitation to “Explore the Summer Games”…
Clicking the link zooms you out high above Beijing, and shows a box with Today’s Events, Calendar, Events and Venues…
Today’s Events, as expected, lists upcoming events along with times and participating teams or athletes. When you click on one of the events, you zoom in to see that building. Here’s where the men’s handball tournament is taking place.
Clicking on the “Summer Games 2008 ” link in the “Places” menu brings up the main menu again, and if you click on “Venues”, you’ll see over thirty venues to look at. Here’s the velodrome:
This one is the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium:
And of course, the National Stadium where that spectacular opening ceremony took place:
Flying and zooming around the vennues in Google Earth is pretty exciting, but it is quite demanding on your computer. An easier way to see all the venues is to go to the 2008 Summer Games by Google page I mentioned earlier:
From there, you can check out and learn more about each individual venue and find other buildings in the various 3D collections:
So if you can’t get to the Olympics for real, and watching it on TV doesn’t do it for you, why not swing by Beijiing in Google Earth and get quite a unique overview of the Beijing Olympics. I’m glad I did!
Possibly Related
- The Olympics come to Beijing, China
- Live Weather Reports in Google Earth
- Google Earth API Examples
- Euro 2008 Stadium in Google Earth
- SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse
One Response to “Beijing 2008 Summer Games in Google Earth”
Comments
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Mark Ramsay, globetrotting from an armchair in England.
3:23 pm on August 12th, 2008
Top class there you go you have hit top of the league table out classing all my blogs you clever clever man, it is really good I am now going to try and take a virtual tour around bejing and the olympics thanks Nick, and well done.