In the era of internet, 3G mobile phones and wi-fi, could a secret be kept long enough? Well, obviously not, since there has been an information leakage around the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on August 8.

Countless journalists, photographers and ordinary passers-by have been flocking around the massive Bird’s Nest Beijing National Stadium in Beijing to take their exclusive shots of the ceremony rehearsals since they began in July. The Olympic opening and closing ceremonies has always been pompous events, surrounded by a veil of secrecy, because of unspoken competition between organisers to hold the most memorable displays.

Video clips from the rehearsals showing marvellous fireworks have been circulating on the internet for some time, but they were shot from outside. South Korean television –  SBS – spilled the beans at the end of July. The broadcaster filmed a one-minute coverage of the rehearsal from inside the stadium. Although all participants in the rehearsal were forced to sign a confidentiality clause and the security measures were severe – practice sessions were protected by three rings of checkpoints – the SBS crew entered the stadium entirely legally and made the shooting, Associated Press (AP) reported.

As seen from the coverage, the show would include “a dramatic countdown, giant whales, an illuminated globe and performers flying through the air like Peter Pan”. The clip showed undulating white columns, which seemed to simulate a waterfall, massive blue whales projected onto the strips from the stadium roof and a giant blue-and-green illuminated globe on the stadium’s floor. Contemporary dancers were dancing, dressed in black, while others twirled ribbons. Drummers, martial arts experts and acrobats hanging on wires and floating above the audience were also in evidence. Part of the ceremony would involve cymbals clanging noisily in the tradition of Beijing opera.

According to the SBS report, the most impressive part of the three-and-a-half hour ceremony was the countdown for setting up the Olympic fire with hundreds of people in rolls, counting down the numbers with flashing cards, while chanting in Chinese.

SBS spokesman Park Jaeman told AP it would be regrettable if Beijing Olympics organisers felt offended by the broadcast. “The purpose of the broadcast was aimed at heightening enthusiasm toward the Beijing Olympics by showing South Korean viewers the magnificence of the opening ceremony; there was no other intention,” Park said, adding that his company did not secretly tape it. Letting the cat out of the bag for such and important event could really be imprudent. Unconfirmed media rumours said that those daring to violate the opening ceremony’s confidentiality contract would be jailed. Chinese authorities, however, denied the reports.

As the impressive bursts at the stadium during rehearsals could not be hidden by the organisers, it is also clear that the show will include dozens of smiley face bursts and fireworks in the shape of a yellow dragon with red peony flowers. Among the few facts officials revealed about the ceremony was that fireworks would be set off from 1800 sites around the city, including major urban areas between Tiananmen Square and the Bird’s Nest stadium.

To give some impression about the creativeness, the style and the dash with which the ceremony is being choreographed, it’s enough to mention that its director is China’s most famous film director, Zhang Yimou, who has spent the past three years designing the spectacle. Watching his films, Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers, could give some idea of what to expect on August 8. Yimou has somehow managed to summarise 5000 years of Chinese history in a 50-minute show.

However, the Olympic Games opening ceremony is such a huge event that neither the snoozing photographers, nor the journalists had managed to reveal the great mystery, how the Olympic cauldron will be lit and who will be the final torchbearer. Chinese media speculated that a fire-breathing dragon or phoenix would light the cauldron, but no proof has been found so far. The world will simply have to wait until 8.08pm on August 8 2008 to find out.