Which may be why Beijing's Olympic organizers are pinning great hopes on the opening ceremony of the 2008 Games.

How China will present its 5,000-year-long culture in the four-hour-long extravaganza fascinates many, including four internationally acclaimed directors who have overseen previous Olympic opening ceremonies.

They are Manuel Huerga, director of the opening ceremony in Barcelona 1992; David Atkins, artistic director of the opening ceremony in Sydney 2000; David Zolkwer, chief designer of the opening ceremony in Athens 2004; and Richard Peter Birch, who has participated in four opening ceremonies since 1984 in Los Angeles.

"The ceremonies are often the most glamorous parts of the Games, and are always seen as major criteria of each city's success," said Zolkwer on a live TV programme in Beijing, appearing alongside the three others to mark the two-year countdown to the 2008 Games earlier this month.

The British director's words of wisdom were evident in the Athens' opening ceremony that he oversaw. When the Athens Olympics lifted its curtain on August 13, 2004, a successful Games seemed guaranteed, just as the organizers had promised, as all the unpleasant memories of long debates and construction delays faded out in the amazing opening ceremony.

Storytelling is the method Beijing should use in organizing its Olympic opening ceremony, Zolkwer added. His view was echoed by the other directors.

"Advisors may think out many excellent ideas, but these thoughts are separate and inconsistent," said Huerga. "The format of storytelling can put all these elements together and showcase the emotions of the host city."

Huerga began the trend of storytelling in Olympic opening ceremonies in 1992, when he presented a story of the evolution of Barcelona to people all over the world. Ever since then, the format of storytelling has been adopted in the subsequent Olympic opening ceremonies.

However, how to choose a story and how to develop it are the key problems that await the Beijing team, headed by renowned filmmaker Zhang Yimou.

Audience involvement

Birch, dubbed the No 1 director of Olympic opening ceremonies, is an artistic advisor in the team. One idea of the Australian is inspired by a Chinese ancient story of a so-called "Foolish Old Man" who removed mountains. The story tells how the man, who was in his late 80s, tried to remove the mountains that blocked the way of his family, and with dogged perseverance managed the seemingly impossible by succeeding.

"If we build a mountain in the centre of the National Stadium at the opening ceremony, each member of the audience can take one part away and the mountain will be removed. It is very interesting," Birch said.

Birch and other directors also exchanged views on some other Chinese traditional stories, such as Pan Gu, creator of the universe in Chinese mythology who separated heaven and earth, Nu Wa, a goddess who patched the holes in the sky with stone blocks, and the magpie bridge meeting, where Herd-boy and Weaving Girl, the separated lovers in Chinese mythology, meet each other again each year.

"China has a very long history and boasts lots of beautiful stories," said Atkins. "The story staged at the opening ceremony should demonstrate the history and culture of the host city, but it should not necessarily be a historical one. And modern technologies are needed to present the story in a proper way.

"But advanced technologies are just tools. The key point is a touching story from the bottom of people's hearts."

Atkins is the producer and artistic director of the Doha Asian Games 2006.

But what will the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics actually be like? On the night of August 8, 2008, the country and the rest of the world will finally know.