Mainland singer Liu Huan and British soprano Sarah Brightman will perform the theme song for the Olympics opening ceremony, organisers said yesterday.
It was one of several details about the much-hyped ceremony that they revealed. But they gave nothing away about the climactic cauldron-lighting ritual.
Vintage pop star Liu and Brightman, best known for her appearances in musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, will sing a specially commissioned three-minute duet, which is expected to be a highlight of the 31/2-hour ceremony. Organisers would not say who composed the song, nor reveal its title.
The gala, directed and produced by Oscar-nominated film director Zhang Yimou , consists of eight parts, with the first five devoted to China's ancient civilisation and the rest to highlighting the country's contemporary history.
Zhang Heping, director of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games' opening and closing ceremonies department, said more than 15,000 people would go onstage, one-third from the military.
After the theme song is performed, athletes will march into the stadium behind their national flags. Then there will be an address by officials and the Olympic flag will be brought into the stadium.