Beijing Olympics organizers on Friday denied reports that the
opening ceremony of the 2008 Games will feature a Chinese opera,
saying the exact details of the ceremony are a closely guarded
secret.
A Beijing-based newspaper this week quoted the ceremony's
artistic director Zhang Yimou as saying that the viewers would have
a chance to taste Qinqiang, a folk opera popular in northwest
China, during the opening ceremony.
But Zhu Hong, deputy director of the opening and closing
ceremonies department of the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee
(BOCOG), dismissed the report as "absolutely false".
"There are about 300 kinds of folk operas in China. We have yet
to decide whether the ceremony should showcase any local opera or
not, not to mention decide how it can be displayed," Zhu told
Chinese reporters.
Zhu, however, revealed that how the Olympic flame will be lit at
the opening ceremony was already fixed.
"It's the top secret. Only 10 people know about the details,
even I myself know nothing," he said.
Beijing intends to make the three and a half hours show the best
opening ceremony ever, making it an unforgettable experience for
the visitors from all over the world. Hollywood director Steven
Spielberg, Australian Ric Birch and Frenchman Yves Pepin have been
invited by the organizing committee to be creative consultants for
the opening ceremony.
The 2008 Olympic Games will take place in Beijing from Aug. 8 to
24.
(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2008)