Olympics attracts galaxy of leaders

The Foreign Ministry revealed yesterday that a total of 80 world leaders attended the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, setting a new record in the Games' history.

Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that 54 heads of state, 16 heads of government, nine representatives of royal families and one regional leader attended the ceremony.

But this is not the only record Beijing has set in terms of world leaders' participation in humankind's biggest party.