China's annual televised Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) Gala, a centerpiece of celebrations to mark the country's most important festival, will feature many Olympic elements, according to the organizers.
An electronic scroll similar to the one that amazed the world at the Beijing Olympics opening will appear as the background of the show, to be broadcast live by the country's biggest TV station--CCTV--on the eve of the festival, which falls on Jan. 25, 2009.
Used during the Olympic opening ceremony on Aug. 8, the massive scroll featured many iconic Chinese elements.
The designs on the scroll of the New Year show will change constantly to match the various programs, the Legal Daily reported on Friday.
Another Olympic icon- the Water Cube, or National Aquatics Center--will feature in the CCTV show. Colorful bricks similar to those on the Cube's walls will decorate the stage, the organizers said.
Some of the high-tech shooting equipment used in the ceremony, such as 'Electronic Rabbits' and 'Spider Eyes', would be adopted for the first time during the live broadcast of the show.
'Electronic Rabbit' is the colloquial name for an unmanned tracking camera that can follow an athlete from the starting line to the finish line synchronously.
'Spider Eyes' is another type of camera with a fast-turning lens that can snap an object in any direction.
First broadcast in 1983, the Spring Festival Gala has become an annual rite for the Chinese, who enjoy watching singing, dancing, acrobatics and Xiangsheng (a comic dialogue also known as cross-talk).
On Lunar New Year's eve, most Chinese, some of whom have trekked long distances for a family reunion, will sit down over dinner together and watch the show.
The construction of the stage will start on Nov. 20, and the project is expected to be finished one month later.
(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2008)