appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP Reporter

The Olympics opening ceremony at the National Stadium seemed flawless but  director and veteran martial arts choreographer Ching Siu-tung,  who was in charge  of  former gymnast Li Ning's  spectacular high-wire sprinting performance, said  the performance almost ended in tears.
Li,  14 times a world champion  gymnast,  was the last torch bearer to light the  ceremonial  cauldron. 'When the torch was almost there,  Li  suddenly turned around and shouted at us, 'The wire has caught my back!'. I immediately sent my assistant onto the stage to fix the wire for Li,'  said Ching (right).
'But two of the  torch security guards in blue and white tracksuits thought my assistant was trying to mess up the ceremony and stopped him from getting anywhere near Li. Luckily, some staff recognised him and let him fix the wire.'
The director said that if the wire  hadn't been fixed  before Li was  pulled up into the air, 'he would have tipped over, turning upside down, and it would have looked really bad'.
'My assistant managed  to fix the wire and  jump off the stage literally the second before the spotlight was put on Li. It was very close.'
Ching  said he  had  very  little time to practise with Li, who was selected to be the  last torch bearer only  at the beginning of  in August.
'[The opening ceremony] was considered  a state secret and we all had to sign  papers pledging not to leak  any details. Not only  could  we not rehearse when it was raining, we also had to wait until 11pm every night, when  everyone else had left the stadium, to  practise,' he said.  'And during practice, we couldn't call Li  by his name, only  'No1'.'
Ching said he turned down a film project to work on the opening ceremony after director Zhang Yimou invited him in December. '[The Olympics] is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' he said.
Ching  described  the project as  his most difficult  ever.  'Unlike making a film, there was no take two.  There was only  one chance and it had to be right.'



High-wire stunt nearly a flop