2008 Summer Olympics - Participation

Participation

All but one of the 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that existed as of 2008 participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics, the exception being Brunei. Three countries participated in the Olympic Games for their first time: the Marshall Islands, Montenegro and Tuvalu. The Marshall Islands and Tuvalu gained National Olympic Committee status in 2006 and 2007 respectively, and 2008 was the first games in which they were eligible to participate. The states of Serbia and Montenegro, which participated at the 2004 Games jointly as Serbia and Montenegro, competed separately for the first time. The Montenegrin Olympic Committee was accepted as a new National Olympic Committee in 2007. Neighboring Kosovo, however, did not participate. After the declaration of independence in Kosovo, the IOC specified requirements that Kosovo needs to meet before being recognised by the IOC; most notably, it has to be recognised as independent by the United Nations. China and the United States had the largest teams, with 639 athletes for China and 596 for the United States.

More than 100 sovereigns, heads of state and heads of government as well as 170 Ministers of Sport attended the Beijing Olympic Games.