One more sleep (and Beijing won’t again for 17 days)

With just one day remaining before the opening ceremonies, we are at a new level of Olympic excitement here in Beijing.

You can see it on the faces of the Chinese people who, with big wide eyes, line the fences outside the Olympic Park to snap pictures of the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. The city streets and billboards are full of Olympic logos announcing Beijing’s hope for “One World One Dream”. The athletes, coaches, journalists and visitors are touching down by the plane-load.

When Chinese basketball god Yao Ming emerged from the Forbidden City yesterday, hoards of adoring fans were waiting for him. They cheered as he raised the Olympic torch over his head, ready to run his leg of the torch relay past Beijing’s most recognizable backdrop. As the torch weaves its way through the city today, organizers are putting together the final touches.

Security is tight

After a few protest flare-ups Wednesday, last minute checks may mean tightening the security screws. Local organizers aren’t taking any chances with what they call “terrorism” risks. The likely translation is to guard against protest organizers and anything that could distract from what China hopes is a politics-free world-class event. You can’t go anywhere without walking past someone in uniform whose job is to keep tabs.

But it’s very rare to see police officers or personnel carrying weapons. Most are in a full brown military uniform, standing at attention and wearing their most intimidating expression. Elderly people are also helping out on street corners and in neighborhoods, wearing red armbands and volunteer-style shirts. Everyone is on high alert for anything suspicious.

Personally, this moves between creepy and frustrating out most of the time, as it did on Tuesday night after a dress rehearsal of the opening ceremonies. I had planned to walk through what looked like a wide public expanse of open pavement between the National Stadium and the aquatic center, but the guards had fallen into a formation designed to make the space a lot smaller. Each soldier was spaced 30 feet apart in a line running up and down the park. Instead of letting people crisscross through empty space, the soldiers usd an imaginary wall to funnel people into straight lines like cattle.

Keep it secret, keep it safe

In a different way, security is job number one for me this week: protect the Opening Ceremonies. I work inside the National Stadium helping hundreds of broadcasters from around the world prepare their coverage of the Opening Ceremonies and Track and Field. (I’ll need a new post to relate just how impressive and powerful the stadium feels on the inside.)

I spent Wednesday escorting camera crews from Japan, Colombia and Russia around the stadium to make sure any video they shot did not include pieces of the show you’ll see on Friday night. As you can imagine, Olympic organizers are especially protective of the show after a Korean broadcaster leaked footage of the performance last week.

More than 70 heads of state, including President George W. Bush, will be on hand to watch China’s coming-out-party and millions more will watch it on television around the world. But I feel bad for the Olympic swimmers and the other athletes who have to skip the ceremony to compete early the next day.

I had a chance to watch the last dress rehearsal on Tuesday night (but don’t worry, there is no spoiler here!) This is easily the most engaging, entertaining and fluid opening ceremony I’ve ever seen. It never stalled with something boring or overly dramatic. To tease the sheer size and scale, take a quick look at what makes China such an interesting and complex place: its rich history, a population of 1.3 billion, and a modernization dial set to hyper-speed. That combination of ingredients had me hooked for the entire night.

The creative mind responsible for the opening is Chinese film director Zhang Yimou. You may remember him as the director of the 2003 movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Still skeptical about the show’s theatrics? I heard that Zhang, on more than one occasion, has shown up to meetings in a cape. Yes, like Zorro. A cape!

But I still have no idea how they plan on lighting the Olympic flame, but I’m interested to know if there are any rumors out there.

The air up there

Earlier this week, a weather expert told the state-run news agency that the air quality looked promising for the Opening Ceremonies. But on Thursday morning, the view from my window – the Beijing skyline looking north up to the Olympic Park – is a definite cause for concern. You’ve heard of whiteout conditions in the winter? This is a greyout. The air is thick and soupy.

No word yet on whether the back-up plan will go into effect, but if not now, when?