BEIJING Fireworks exploded over Beijing Friday as the city erupted in joy after it learned it had won the right to host the 2008 Olympics Games.

At the Millennium Tower in the west of the Chinese capital, a crowd of more than 4,000 greeted the news with jubilation, shouting and jumping up and down, after having patiently waited for hours for the announcement.

"Beijing people welcome everyone here," said Zhang Ki, a 22-year-old student at Beijing Industrial University, and one of the revelers at the tower.

"Beijing will be stronger and stronger now," she said as a Sea of Red national flag waved around her.

State television, which had broadcast live from Moscow for most the day in anticipation of the Olympic vote, immediately flashed the message "We have won" in triumphant red characters across the screen.

Even police officers responsible for ensuring tight security at Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city for most of the evening loosened up and joined in, chanting "Beijing, Beijing, We've Won."

Earlier there had been nervous tension as the Chinese people remembered how Beijing was narrowly pipped at the post by Sydney to host the 2000 Games.

As the news was flashed out, a huge crowd of volunteers who had been waiting at the Great Wall of the People, west of Tiananmen Square, started streaming out, waving flags and banners, AFP reported.

A performance of dragon dance and ethnic songs took place inside a circle at the center of the square.

Some of the thousands gathered at the Millennium Tower immediately focused on the tangible benefits that the 2008 Games would bring.

"It will be good for the economy," said Zhang Wue, a 20-year-old student at Beijing University of Chemical Technology. "Once I graduate, there'll be more jobs available for me."