80+ Heads of State to Attend the Opening Ceremony

The 80+ heads of state include:

• USA: George W. Bush*
• France: Nicolas Sarkozy
• Japan : Fukuda (pictured above)
• Australia: Kevin Rudd
  
• South Korea: Lee Myung-bak
  
• Russia: Vladimir Putin
• Monaco: Prince Albert II
• Pakistan: Pervez Musharraf
• Samoa: Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi
• Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri Albert Gabriel Felix Marie Guillaume
• Hong Kong: Donald Tsang
• Israel: Shimon Peres
• Turkmenistan: Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov

Other notable political and business leaders in attendance:

• George H.W. Bush, former president of USA
• Gerhard Shröder, former chancellor of Germany
• Mayor of Tokyo (one of 4 finalist contenders for the 2016 summer Olympics)
• Bill Gates
• Drs. Chen of Sunrider International
• Rupert Murdoch
• Jerry Yang
• Princess Haya of Jordan

Big shots who have decided to NOT attend the ceremony:

• Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
• Gordon Brown, P.M. of Great Britain
• Stephen Harper, P.M. of Canada

*no American president has ever attended an opening ceremony beyond American borders (while in office).