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| Beijing ready for Olympic opening | Beijing ready for Olympic opening |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Chinese capital, Beijing, is preparing to open the 2008 Olympic Games with a lavish ceremony, amid hazy skies and ongoing pollution concerns. | |
| The event will involve about 10,000 performers, and will be watched on TV by an estimated four billion people. | The event will involve about 10,000 performers, and will be watched on TV by an estimated four billion people. |
| The lead-up to the Games has been dogged by issues such as China's rights record, internet access, and pollution. | |
| US President George W Bush expressed "deep concerns" over human rights before flying to Beijing. | US President George W Bush expressed "deep concerns" over human rights before flying to Beijing. |
| Mr Bush, who was in Thailand on the eve of the opening ceremony, voiced "firm opposition" to China's detention of dissidents - while stressing that he wanted the focus during the Games to be on sport. | Mr Bush, who was in Thailand on the eve of the opening ceremony, voiced "firm opposition" to China's detention of dissidents - while stressing that he wanted the focus during the Games to be on sport. |
| China rejected the US president's criticisms as "interference" in its internal affairs, and insisted it "put its people first". | China rejected the US president's criticisms as "interference" in its internal affairs, and insisted it "put its people first". |
| Meanwhile, 40 Olympian athletes wrote to President Hu Jintao expressing their concerns over Beijing's handling of anti-Chinese unrest in Tibet. | Meanwhile, 40 Olympian athletes wrote to President Hu Jintao expressing their concerns over Beijing's handling of anti-Chinese unrest in Tibet. |
| China's 'extraordinary' effort | |
| The 2008 Olympics have been described as the most politicised Games since the boycott era of the early 1980s, says the BBC's sports news reporter Alex Capstick in Beijing. | The 2008 Olympics have been described as the most politicised Games since the boycott era of the early 1980s, says the BBC's sports news reporter Alex Capstick in Beijing. |
| China promises 'greatest' GamesIn pictures: Torch at Great WallBeijing pollution: Facts and figures | China promises 'greatest' GamesIn pictures: Torch at Great WallBeijing pollution: Facts and figures |
| But after a succession of controversial issues in the build-up to the Games, the focus is now shifting to the opening ceremony. | But after a succession of controversial issues in the build-up to the Games, the focus is now shifting to the opening ceremony. |
| Having taken seven years of planning, and a record-breaking $40bn in costs, nothing has been left to chance in China's bid to show the world what it can do, our correspondent adds. | Having taken seven years of planning, and a record-breaking $40bn in costs, nothing has been left to chance in China's bid to show the world what it can do, our correspondent adds. |
| An estimated global audience of four billion people will watch the opening ceremony. | An estimated global audience of four billion people will watch the opening ceremony. |
| It will be staged at Beijing's national stadium - known as the Bird's Nest because of its steel latticed construction - and some 10,000 performers will take part. | It will be staged at Beijing's national stadium - known as the Bird's Nest because of its steel latticed construction - and some 10,000 performers will take part. |
| Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee, who has repeatedly defended the decision to let China host the Olympics, said he hoped the Games would help the world to understand China, and China to understand the world. | Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee, who has repeatedly defended the decision to let China host the Olympics, said he hoped the Games would help the world to understand China, and China to understand the world. |
| Human-rights groups have condemned curbs on journalists covering the Games. | |
| In a statement issued on Friday, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said: "As the 2008 Olympic Games open in Beijing, foreign journalists in China face a host of severe restrictions, ranging from harassment to a censored internet." | In a statement issued on Friday, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said: "As the 2008 Olympic Games open in Beijing, foreign journalists in China face a host of severe restrictions, ranging from harassment to a censored internet." |
| Weather concern | |
| On the morning of the opening ceremony, a BBC reading suggested Beijing's air quality remained below World Health Organization (WHO) standards. | |
| Visibility was also very poor on Friday, with one official warning that the cloud could interfere with the ceremony.HAVE YOUR SAYWe hope the games will show our guests China today, not China thirty years ago Roc, ChinaSend us your comments | |
| "There are clouds covering Beijing and we are really concerned that will have an influence on tonight's ceremony," said Guo Hu, director of the Beijing Meteorological Observatory. | |
| But Mr Guo is predicting that heavy rain over the weekend will clear the skies, and he warned that hazy conditions should not be confused with high levels of pollution. | |
| "If the visibility is not good it does not mean the air quality is not good," he said. | |
| On Thursday, Mr Rogge said if the pollution was bad, events which lasted more than an hour could be shifted or postponed. | |
| But he also praised China's "extraordinary" efforts to cut pollution ahead of the Games, saying there was no danger to athletes' health. |