Scoring their own piece of history

Some theme songs for sports events have lived beyond their purpose and become popular in their own right. Think of the theme song for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Hang in Hand, or The Cup of Life for the 1998 football World Cup or The Power of the Dream for the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Now, as Beijing 2008 approaches, Chinese musicians are vying for their place in history by creating the theme song for these eagerly-awaited Games.

Beijing officials have been sifting through hundreds of songs to find the one that best represents Beijing. The process to choose Olympic songs started five years ago. Tens of thousands were heard before the final list was drawn up. The music videos of the 30 official Olympic songs were released together with the music album. The gold medal - the choice of theme song - won't be revealed until Friday's opening ceremony but there seem to be some front-runners.

One World One Dream, the same title as the 2008 Games slogan, is sung by Chris Yu from Taiwan and Guan Zhe from the Chinese mainland.

Forever Friends, performed by famous singers Sun Nan and Coco Lee, is composed by the legendary Giorgio Moroder and produced by Kong Xiangdong. The prolific Moroder has produced many hit songs, including the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic theme Reach Out, Seoul 1988's Hand in Hand and Un'estate Italiana for the 1990 football World Cup. The bilingual song Forever Friends reflects the Olympic spirit, which is optimistic and energetic.

China See, presented by superstar Jackie Chan and renowned Chinese singer Tan Jing, is another charming possibility. This song contains many Chinese elements and is the theme song for a large Chinese cultural exhibition called China Story which will be held during the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.