Zhang Yimou to direct opening ceremony of Beijing Olypmics

Zhang Yimou

The organizers of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Sunday chose famed Chinese film maker Zhang Yimou as the director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the high-profile event.

American film maker Stephen Spielberg, Yves Pepin, head of the French entertainment group ECA2, and director of the Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony Ric Birch were named as special consultants, the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee said on its Web site.

"I am very honored to be named chief director of the ceremonies, it is a huge task ... but I promise that I will fulfill the task successfully," Zhang said.

The opening ceremony will be held on Aug. 8, 2008, when China hosts its first ever Olympic Games.

"Through the visual arts, the performing arts, the art of music, the art of dance, the art of celebration of life, all of us are dedicated to making this Olympic opening and closing ceremonies the most emotional everyone has ever seen," Spielberg said.

Liu Qi, Beijing's top communist party official and chairman of the organizing committee, tasked Zhang and his directorial group with organizing ceremonies to showcase both the world's greatest sporting event and China's long history.

"The level of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games will play a decisive role on whether we can host a special, high-level Olympic Games," Liu said.

"For 1.3 billion Chinese awaiting the Olympics, they will place importance on the quality and level of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, while for billions of world viewers, the opening ceremony will become the first impression of the Beijing Olympics," he said.