BEIJING - With one day to go before the start of the Beijing Olympics, the Beijing Olympic Games organizers (BOCOG) released the Games plan for the Opening Ceremony due tomorrow. The Director of the BOCOG Opening and Closing Ceremonies Department, Zhang Heping said yesterday in a press conference that this year’s games will start at 8:00 pm (2pm Rwandan time) and will last about three and half hours. “At the opening ceremony, China’s Liu Huan and British girl Sarah Brightman have been chosen to sing the theme song,” Zhang said. Zhang further added that prior to the official opening ceremony, the 75-minute pre-ceremony performance that will end at 7:00 p.m., will feature folk and ethnic art from 28 teams across the country ahead of the theme song. The core part of the ceremony, the artistic performances are set to one hour and will be divided into two parts; one to highlight China’s age-old civilization and the other to highlight China’s splendid modern era. The post-performance part of the ceremony will last two and a half hours and comprises various Olympic rituals and traditions, including a declaration from Chinese President Hu Jintao opening the Games and a two-hour long parade of athletes. Delegations from 205 national and regional Olympic committees will enter the stadium according to the order of the simplified Chinese characters. According to Zhang, the passion will be lighted on the night of August 8, offering the hundreds of thousands of spectators in the National Stadium, as well as hundreds of millions of people outside a spectacular performance. Ends
