Thousands protested and millions of others watched in awe as China did its best to wow the world with its lavish staging of the
Olympic Opening Ceremonies in the iconic structure known as bird's nest stadium in Beijing Friday.
Thousands of demonstrators around the globe tried to shift the focus away from the spectacle and onto the host nation's human rights record and its rule in Tibet.
A man lit himself on fire during a demonstration in the Turkish capital of Ankara and protesters in London, England hoisted the Tibetan flag in a show of defiance.
"The Olympics shouldn't have been offered to China on the basis of their human rights record," Liawang Tsang, whose family fled Tibet nine years ago, said at the London protest outside the Chinese embassy. "But from this, there have been positives as the attention of the world is now on China and their human rights record is in the spotlight."
Thousands of Tibetan exiles took part in a protest outside the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu chanting: "China, thief: Leave our country. Stop killing in Tibet."
In China, three American protesters who'd planned to hoist up Tibetan flags during the Opening Ceremonies were reportedly detained by police as they made their way to the National Stadium.
Tiananmen Square was sealed off and foreign protesters were deported.
And here in Toronto a large group of demonstrators set out on a march from Queen's Park to the Chinese consulate Friday afternoon. RCMP officers are on guard and authorities set up barricades around the building as a precaution.
"Here in Canada I have the right to protest and the right to let the world know the situation is critical and now is the time for action," Bhutila Karpoche, of Students for a Free Tibet, said before the march began.
"China itself has politicized the games. If they want to be accepted in the world, they have to deal with human rights," another protester, Tish Carnet, said.
But while some were expressing their anger at China about 3,000 others streamed into a Richmond Hill movie complex to watch the Opening Ceremonies on a big screen in high definition.
"This is a big day for China, so I have to come here," one spectator said. "I love my ... home country."
In Toronto's largest Chinatown near Spadina and Dundas, Tony Huang suggested it was the country's opportunity to finally connect with the rest of the world in a way it's struggled to do peacefully in the past.
"A lot of foreigners they don't know that much about China, and for the most part I think this is a great way to showcase what they've accomplished so far," he said.
But for former Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman, it served as more of a painful reminder of what he felt could have been for the GTA had the city not lost out to Beijing in its bid to host the 2008 games.
"The spirit of people in Canada is waiting to come out," he said. "The spirit of Toronto is waiting to come out and if the games had been here, wow ... the buildings that would have been built and the waterfront would have been completed. We would have had more subways."
But back in China it was less a question of what might have been and more the pressing reality of what currently is.
Amid the massive celebrations, security was tightened in the western region of Xinjiang after a Chinese Islamic group released a videotaped threat, warning Chinese Muslims to avoid riding buses, trains and planes during the Summer Games. The Turkistan Islamic Party is seeking independence for Xinjiang.
The video depicted the Olympic logo in flames followed by an explosion over a venue.
But perhaps nobody summed up the day and its many faces better than Victor Wong of the Chinese Canadian National Council.
"There's a diversity of opinion about the Olympic Games," he admitted. "You'll find those that are quite proud, even those that are quite nationalistic about it to those who are concerned about the human rights abuses in that country. I think the external pressure is important to support the internal pressure that's there for reform."
For more, check out the Maclean's Olympics section
here.
Olympic Opening Ceremony Photo Gallery
Beijing Olympics Kick Off With Eye-Popping Opening Ceremony