The truly incredible sights of Beijing

First we had the faking of the footprint-shaped firework smoke and then that cute little girl in the red dress, Lin Miaoke, who sang beautifully, except it wasn’t her voice but that of someone less photogenic, Yang Peiyi, a seven-year-old who was deemed not quite cute enough to be the face of new China.

Those who believed lip-synching went out with Milli Vanilli were a bit stunned when the truth was revealed, and the Western media was quick to feast on the fakery.

"You know how we all thought it looked incredible? It turns out that some of it was." chirped The Times.

The Times also pointed out that cheer squads were drafted in to fill empty seats at some venues in Beijing with orders to cheer for everybody.

The Times went on, “So if all it takes is computer wizardry, some lip synching and rent-a-crowd fans, London need lose no sleep worrying about trumping Beijing or about mounting costs. The tricksy opening ceremony can be faked, and even the stadiums themselves could be run up on a computer screen."

My local radio station ran a listeners’ poll on whether the faking of images and voices mattered one little bit. Eighty percent said they didn’t care – they just enjoyed the spectacle of the Opening Ceremony, real or not.

The Wrap’s only concern is whether Michael Phelps is really winning all those gold medals in the swimming pool. Maybe the other swimmers are just chasing a digitally produced image of the American champion breaking world records.

The Times: Some of the sights from Beijing are unbelievable – literally

What about the Coco Pops, Michael?

Still on the subject of superfish Michael Phelps.

The Guardian's front page lists his typical daily intake. This is just breakfast: three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, fried onion and mayonnaise, followed by two coffees, a five-egg omelette, a bowl of corn porridge, three French toasts with powdered sugar and then three chocolate chip pancakes.

The Guardian: Phelps is now the top Olympian of all time. Here's what it takes...

Giving Skytrax the BOOT

We are friends of the BOOT – the Business of Online Travel – here at The Wrap.

This week Tim Hughes has been running a quizzical eye over the Skytrax airline awards, which are much loved by the airlines who win the top gongs. The Wrap knows this to be true because his email inbox overflows with self-congratulatory emails from the winning airlines, keen to tell the world just how wonderful they are.

What I really liked in Tim’s blog was the response from one reader, writing anonymously, to claim that Aeroflot was his or her favourite airline, better even than Airline of the Year, Singapore Airlines.

“Aeroflot is my favourite. 

The essence de dunny that whiffs through the plane and meals on metal plates gets my prison guard memories flooding back,” he or she wrote.

“Then the unscheduled stops for plane fuel...only adds the mystery flight component.

 All these are priceless....”

BOOT: Skytrax vs the BOOT - who do you agree with as the World's Best Airline?

Why London Needs Another Airport

If you thought that all the problems with London’s airports were at Heathrow Terminal 5, think again.

Boris Johnson, Lord Mayor of London, and ex-MP, has just vented his frustration at the state of London Gatwick Airport, the world’s eighth busiest airport.

He writes, “In four years, we are due to welcome the world to the London Olympics, and we need to sort this (airport) chaos out now.

“With Gatwick full to bursting, and with Heathrow's third runway already bitterly contested - and I bet it never gets built - it is also ever more urgent that we investigate the possibility of a long-term solution, in the form of a new and more eco-friendly international airport at a site in the Thames estuary - of which you will be hearing a lot more in due course.”

You bet, Boris.

Telegraph Online: Fly into Gatwick: See why London needs another airport.