President Jiang Zemin did not attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Seoul last night - but thousands of fans were able to listen to his favourite singer.
Song Zuying was one of several Korean and foreign performers at an open-air concert on Thursday evening in World Cup park, in front of the stadium where the opening ceremony was held.
At the event, whose theme was 'all the world are brothers', classical and popular music was played as a warm-up for the opening night of the tournament. Song was the first Chinese to perform at such an event.
She is widely reported to be the favourite singer of Mr Jiang and other members of the Beijing leadership.
Diplomats said Mr Jiang initially accepted but then declined an invitation to attend the opening ceremony, sending in his place Yuan Weimin, director of the State Sports General Administration, to represent China in the event.
Song, 31, is a member of a cultural troupe of the Chinese navy and attends the National People's Congress as a delegate from the People's Liberation Army.
