The world may never witness a ceremony of the magnitude and ingenuity expected to be showcased at the National Stadium, affectionately dubbed the Bird's Nest. The stadium design is gobsmacking, with 45,000 tonnes of steel used to build it.

Organisers have spent a staggering $100 million ($US) on the opening and closing ceremonies.

A total of 91,000 spectators will watch the ceremony live in the Bird's Nest, with an expected four billion world-wide television audience.

The Chinese admitted they opted for lucky charms rather than optimum calendar timing in terms of weather - the gamble looks certain to pay off.

Two hours from the start of proceedings conditions were predictably hot and humid, but forecast rain appears unlikely.

Wang Wei, executive vice-president and secretary general of BOCOG said earlier today: "We would prefer to have the date of the opening ceremony much later (in the year) because of the weather conditions in Beijing."

"In September the weather would be much, much better, not only for the people watching but also for the athletes, Wang Wei said.

"Hopefully this lucky date (8th of the 8th) will bring luck to the opening ceremony. According to the weather forecast there will be a light shower.

"The air quality looks good. You can not judge the air quality by the appearance, we have to trust the scientists.

"I think tonight will be lucky so let's keep our fingers crossed.

"At the moment I don't think we can do anything, lao tian ye (heavenly grandfathers) they decide everything. The air quality not only depends on Beijing but also determined by the whole area (ie surrounding provinces)."

More than 10,000 athletes and 200 countries will be presented to the crowd.

Nations will be announced in alphabetical order according to Chinese script - resulting in a long wait for participants from Down Under.

Australia will enter the stadium third last followed by Zambia then China. In all, 230 of Australia's 433 athletes are set to march behind flag bearer James Tomkins - competing at sixth Olympics.

Security, predictably, was high enterting the stadium - the armed tanks quite intimidating.

The spectacular three-hour upcoming ceremony has been devised and engineered by China's famed academy award-nominated film maker, Zhang Yimou.

Yimou's production, which involves 15,000 performers and 29,000 rounds of fireworks, will surely catapult him to a level of international notoriety beyond that he achieved with his Oscar-nominated films Raise the Red Lantern (1991) and House of Flying Daggers (2004).

The ceremony is tipped to dwarf those of Athens and Sydney in terms of resources expended and expectations exceeded. If, indeed, these Games are as much a PR exercise on the part of the Chinese government as a sporting event, the first charm offensive of the fortnight should prove an overwhelming success, smog notwithstanding.

Prior to the ceremony, Zhang told Chinese media the event's central theme would centre around "the ancient and long history of the Chinese nation ... (and) reflect the cultural aspects of Chinese society and showcase what modern China and its people are all about." He delivered. In China's first large scale attempt to draw back its curtains and allow the world to peer in, Zhang delivered a production both impressive in scale, and insightful in its representation of homeland, new and old.

The Chinese filmmaker was aided by Ric Birch, Australia's own "master of ceremonies". Birch was the creative force behind Olympic opening ceremonies in Los Angeles, Barcelona and Sydney, but this surely was his magnum opus, choregraphing a small army of performers - some of which were from the army - to dovetail with a multi-million dollar laser and light show.

Birch, speaking prior to his arrival in China, brazenly predicted the world would be "gobsmacked" by the production. Again, he proved true to his word, and in so doing all but swept away the last remnants of bitterness prompted by Steven Spielberg's messy split with the Beijing organisers.

Spielberg had originally agreed to serve as an adviser to the opening ceremony committee, but withdrew in protest over China's failure to exert its influence over its ally, Sudan, during the Darfur crisis. His departure came as a body blow to image-conscious Beijing officials, but the triumph of Friday night's ceremony relieved any fears of a sub-standard parade before the world.