Although the exact details of the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games are a closely guarded secret, there are reports that the ceremony will include a Chinese opera, a massive fireworks display and a mystery ending.
According to Agence France-Presse the first full dress rehearsal for the sold-out event will be held July 10 at the new National Stadium.
The Chongqing Economic Times quotes the ceremony’s artistic director Zhang Yimou saying that the three-part program will be broadcast around the globe and before about 90,000 spectators and will last about three and a half hours, concluding with the lighting of the Olympic flame.
Zhang said, “a large-scale fireworks display is something we absolutely must have” as part of a program that will celebrate 5,000 years of Chinese history.
He added that besides the opera and pyrotechnics, other parts will focus on contemporary China and the Olympic movement.
