Brown did not attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics on 8 August 2008 in Beijing, and instead attended the closing ceremony on 24 August 2008. Brown had been under intense pressure from human rights campaigners to send a message to China, concerning the 2008 Tibetan unrest. His decision not to attend the opening ceremony was not an act of protest; the decision was made several weeks in advance of the Games.