The 2008 Olympics are now just hours away, with more than 200 countries taking part in the opening ceremony in Beijing on Friday.
The Olympics represents the biggest international coming together in the sporting calendar, and competitors from global superpowers such as the USA and Russia will be taking part alongside athletes from some of the smallest countries in the world, including six Bermudans and four Rwandans.
British medal hopes rest with the likes of triple jumper Phillips Idowu, BMX rider Shanaze Reade and sailor Ben Ainslie, as well as 14-year-old diver Tom Daley.
"Of course we hope that these will be a great Games, even the greatest," said organisers' spokesman Sun Weide. Seventeen of the 28 sports feature action on Saturday, with the Games running until 24 August.
Audience
The Games are expected to attract a record TV audience of four billion - over 100 million more than for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The action also takes place outside of Beijing, with Qingdao hosting the sailing competition and Hong Kong hosting the equestrian events. Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao are the co-host cities for the football tournament.
In all, nearly 11,000 athletes from around the world will compete for around 1,000 medals in 302 events. The Olympic football tournament began on Wednesday as China's women impressed.
China are fielding their biggest ever Olympic team with 639 athletes competing in all 28 sports at the Olympics for the first time, in a bid to top the medals table ahead of the United States.
