Check the what, when and where of the 2008 Olympic Games.
Archery
August 9-15
The event features 64 archers from 37 countries. Using a target placed at a distance of 70 metres, the competitors score points depending on how close the arrow hits the target's centre. Ten points for hitting directly in the centre and no points for missing the target.
Watch out for: Marco Galiazzo from Italy, who will attempt to defend his 2004 Olympics title.
Athletics
August 15-24
This comprises four events: track, field, combined and road. There will be 24 events for men and 23 for women.
Watch out for: Ali Obaid Sherook and Omar Jumaa Al Salfa, the UAE's talented runners who will participate respectively in the 100 and 200-metre races and in the 400- metre hurdles. Also keep an eye on Andreas Thorkildsen, the Norwegian Javelin thrower who is a world junior record holder and American Jeremy Wariner, winner of two Olympic medals for the 400-metre race at the Summer Olympics in Athens.
Badminton
August 9-17
The event will comprise men and women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles tournaments. The competition's format is based on straight eliminations.
Baseball
August 13-23
This men-only event features eight teams who compete in a set of two rounds. The preliminary round follows a round robin format in which each of the teams plays all the other teams once.
Basketball
August 9-24
Held at the Wukesong Indoor Stadium, this category consists of a preliminary round, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
Beach Volleyball
August 9-22
The event will be held at the Beach Volleyball Ground at Chaoyang Park. It will consist of a preliminary round and a single elimination phase for both genders. The total number of matches will be 108; 54 for men and 54 for women.
Boxing
August 9-24
Held at the Workers' Indoor Arena, the all-male competition will consist of 11 events. The elimination is based on the knockout system. The duration of the bout will be 4 rounds of 2 minutes each with a 1-minute break between rounds.
Canoe/Kayak: Flatwater
August 18-23
The event includes the 1000-metres and 500 metres for C1, C2, K1, K2, K4 men's categories and the 500-metre race for K1, K2 and K4 women's categories (denoting one, two and four paddlers for each canoe and kayak).
Canoe/Kayak: Slalom
August 11-14
The event involves men K1, C1 and C2 and women's K1, requiring the paddlers to negotiate 20 to 25 gates in turbulent water over a 300-metre course. Competitors aim to complete the course in the shortest time, factoring in penalties.
Cycling: BMX
August 20-21
Held at the Laoshan Bicycle Moto cross (BMX) venue, there will be a total of 48 athletes competing (16 women and 32 men).
Cycling: Mountain Bike
August 22-23
The mountain bike programme includes cross-country races at the Laoshan venue.
Cycling: Road
August 9-13
This will include individual road races and individual time trial road races with 67 women and 145 men competing separately.
Cycling: Track
August 15-19
Held at the Laoshan Velodrome, the events will include Team Sprint, Keirin (men), 4000-metres Team, Individual Pursuit (men), Madison 50km (men), Points Race 40km (men), Spring (women), 3000-metre Individual Pursuit (women) and Points Race 25km (women).
Diving
August 10-23
Held at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre, this event will include: 3-metre Springboard Synchronized, 10-metre Platform Synchronized, 3-metre Springboard and 10-metre Platform.
Equestrian
August 9-21
This event will be held in three categories: Dressage, Eventing and Jumping, each one split into individual, mixed and team, mixed events.
Watch out for: Shaikha Latifa Bint Ahmad Bin Juma Al Maktoum from the UAE who will be participating in her first Olympic individual show- jumping adventure.
Fencing
August 9-17
Held at the Olympic Green Convention Centre, the event consists of a single elimination tournament. The two losers in the semi-final will fence for the bronze medal.
Football
August 6-23
The football tournament will see professionals in the men's tournament, with rules restricting teams to players under 23 years of age, with an allowance of 3 over-aged players. No age restrictions however apply to the women's tournament. While the men's team comprises 16 players, the women's team has only 12 players.
Gymnastics: Artistic
August 9-19
In artistic events performed on an apparatus, men compete in floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bars, while female gymnasts compete on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and the floor. The competition includes all-round events and team events, also scored over each apparatus with 14 sets of medals to compete for.
Gymnastics: Rhythmic
August 21-24
An all-women event in which two sets of medals will be awarded in the following categories: individual and group.
Gymnastics: Trampoline
August 16-19
To be held at the National Indoor Stadium, the event is a perfect fusion of athletics and aesthetics, and ranks among the defining sports of the Olympic Games.
Watch out for: Irina Karavaeva from Russia- the world's best trampoline gymnast and gold winner at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
Handball
August 9-24
There are two sets of medals in the men and women's categories. Men and women will compete under the same competition system.
Hockey
August 10-23
This oldest ball and stick game will feature teams of 16 players each, made up of both genders. Men and women will then compete separately in the final match.
Judo
August 9-15
The Japanese Judo events will be held at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium. With 14 sets of medals to be awarded, it is the only Olympic sport in which choking an opponent or breaking an arm is allowed.
Modern Pentathlon
August 21-22
Known by everyone as the "true Olympic sport," Modern Pentathlon is a two-day competition consisting of five main events on each day. These are shooting, fencing, electronic epee, swimming,riding and running.
Rowing
August 9-17
Held at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, the event will include 14 sets of medals in a series of tournaments. To win a 2000-metre rowing race the crew must sprint for the first 500-metres.
Sailing
August 9-21
The sailing event featuring a fleet racing format will take place at Qingdao International Marina. This new year's format comprises an opening series and a medal race. Eleven races are scheduled for each event except for the 49th class (type of boat), for which 16 races are scheduled.
Watch out for: Adel Khaled Abdulghafar, UAE's sailing Olympian participating in the yacht races.
Shooting
August 9-17
A competitive sport which tests accuracy and speed using various types of guns. The sport is categorised by the type of firearm used. The culmination of the events will see 15 sets of medals awarded in various categories.
Watch out for: Shaikh Ahmad bin Mohammad bin Hasher Al Maktoum from the UAE who won the gold medal in the Double Trap Shooting event in the 2004 Athens Olympics; and Shaikh Saeed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, gold winner in the Asian Shooting Championship in 2003. Shaikh Saeed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is now in his third Olympics' representation.
Softball
August 12-21
This is an all-women tournament and will be played for the last time this year as the International Olympic Committee has voted it out from the 2012 Olympics programme. Eight teams will compete in two rounds, while China, the host, is guaranteed one automatic entry.
Swimming
August 9-21
Featuring conventional events that include freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and medley, the 10km marathon is a new addition to this category, bringing the total number of events to 34.
Watch out for: Obaid Ahmad Obaid Al Jassimi from the UAE in the 100-metre freestyle swimming
Synchronised Swimming
August 18-23
Held at the Beijing National Aquatics Center, the synchronised swimming events demand strength, endurance, flexibility, grace, artistry and exceptional breath control with two sets of medals to compete for.
Table Tennis
August 13-23
Held at the Peking University Gymnasium, the event will see 172 athletes participating this year for 4 sets of medals in men and women's singles and doubles tournaments.
Taekwondo
August 20-28
Participants are put in categories based on their weight, with different weight zones for men and women. The event is based on the single elimination format.
Watch out for: Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE's only representative in taekwondo, after receiving a wild card entry for the competition in the under 67kg weight category.
Tennis
August 10-17
Played on a DecoTurf hardcourt, the event will be held at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre with 4 sets of medals to be awarded in the following categories: men and women singles, and men's and women's doubles.
Watch out for: Ana Ivanovic, the world's No.1 Serbian player.
Triathlon
August 18-19
Held at the Ming Tomb Reservoir, the event is held in the men's and women's categories with two sets of medals to be awarded for each. It consists of a single race, where competitors swim 1,500 metres, cycle for 40km, and run a further 10 kms to complete the race.
Volleyball
August 9-24
Volleyball is a sport played by two teams of six players each. The two teams are separated by a high net. They have to try and score points against one another under set rules. The indoor volleyball events will be held at the Capital Indoor Stadium and Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium with four sets of medals to be awarded in the men's and women's categories of 12 teams each.
Water Polo
August 10-24
This is a water game between two teams. Each team must have six players and one goalkeeper. The team that scores the most goals is the winner. The men's tournament will feature 12 teams separated into 2 groups of 6 teams, while the women's tournament will have 8 teams, separated into 2 groups of 4 teams.
Weightlifting
August 9-19
Held at the Beihang University Gymnasium, the event will
comprise various categories based on weight with 15 sets of medals to compete for.
Wrestling
August 12-21
Featuring Freestyle and Greco-Roman disciplines, the wrestling event at the Olympics will be further divided into different weight categories. The game has 14 medals to be awarded. Men will compete in both disciplines whereas women will have to take part in freestyle events only.
