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The Bird's Nest stadium will host the opening ceremony today (Photo: Beijing2008.cn)

Most EU leaders stay away from Olympic ceremony

Just nine European Union leaders plan to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing on Friday (8 August), where France will officially represent the EU. Most member states are keeping a low profile instead, with a handful boycotting the festivities over China's human rights record.

The presidents of France, Slovakia, Latvia, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria, the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Finland and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg will watch alongside 70 or so other w...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

The Bird's Nest stadium will host the opening ceremony today (Photo: Beijing2008.cn)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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