Opening Ceremony for 2008 Olympic Games

The opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympic Games will be held on 8th Aug. It will be divided into four parts, fireworks will be used , and the Olympic torch will be lit at 23:30 that night.

Zhang Yimou, the director of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies said that the four parts of the opening ceremony will be: the opening ceremony itself, the performance, the athletes parade, and torch lighting. The performance will display colorful culture of Chinese 5,000 years history, Chinese people's spirit in modern society, the Olympic spirit, and Chinese people's generosity.

The Beijing Opening Ceremony will be "powerful, strong, and impressive", Ric Birch, the man who directed the opening ceremonies in Los Angeles (1984), Barcelona (1992) and Sydney (2000), and also as the Beijing Opening Ceremony's international artistic advisor said after watching the rehearsal.