He shared his thoughts on the 2008 Olympic Games during an interview with China Daily reporter Lei Lei. The following are edited excerpts.

The Beijing organizers are working on the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Games. BOCOG President Liu Qi said "surprise is the key to the success of the ceremonies." Do you agree with him?

Yes, I agree with him because I myself have been the chairman of the co-ordination commission in Sydney and then Athens. I was the only one in the IOC to know what was going to be shown. I remember Mr Samaranch saying "I don't want to know. You must know and you must approve." I don't want to know, I am saying the same to Mr Verbruggen (chairman of the coordination commission of the Beijing Games). He and Mr Felli (IOC Olympic Games Executive Director) are the only ones in IOC who know what is going to be in the ceremonies. They have to discuss with BOCOG and approve it. I don't want to know. I want to be surprised on August 8, 2008.

What do you expect to see at the opening ceremony?

I think the opening ceremony must be a mixture between issues, definitely the traditional Olympic protocol, the parade of the athletes, the Olympic flame, the rise of the flags, the oaths of the athletes and the judges. This is something that is traditional, that is very important because it is about our past and origin.

I expect to see also a vibrant China and the expression of your history and your culture. At the same time as it is something that has to be seen by the entire world and over four billion people, besides the tradition and Chinese part, there must be something that appeals to people internationally. And that probably will be done with the input of other countries and other cultures and you have to find a harmonious whole with that.

Beijing has unveiled its Olympic emblem and mascots, as well as the logo and mascot of the Paralympic Games. Among the five mascots of the Olympic Games, which one do you like best?

You have five mascots and I think they are complementary to each other. So there is no one that sticks out. I was struck by the fact that if you combine the names of the five, you have the sentence of "Beijing Huanying Ni", which is "Welcome to Beijing". That's very innovative. So you have to look at the whole, not one of the five. Five together is formative.

The route for the Olympic torch relay will be announced early next year and Beijing has a plan to carry the torch over the world's highest mountain. The flame will also travel five continents. Do you have any comments about this?

I have no comment. We are still under the discussions with BOCOG for the route and all the details. But I'm sure that will be a great success and the torch is about the universality, about linking the five continents and linking people of different ethnical origins, different cultures, different languages, different religions, different political systems and they are all united by the flame of the Games.

At present, it seems that most of the foreign people do not know much about the Beijing Olympic Games. Are there any suggestions that IOC could give BOCOG concerning overseas promotion?

I think that communicating what you do is always very important. If you do the best work in the world but no one knows, that would be frustrating. So, yes, I think that communication is very important and BOCOG is communicating very well. But every effort to communicate both to the Chinese and abroad is something that is needed. But I don't think today there is a problem there. I think the communication is going well.

BOCOG has received over 210,000 volunteer applications so far and those volunteers will express "Welcome to Beijing" to overseas people. Do you have some suggestions for their work?

I think the volunteers are wonderful. I have no doubt about that. First of all, you are a very hospitable people so you will welcome both the Chinese and also the foreign visitors very well. There is absolutely no doubt about that. You also have a great love for culture and you are very proud of your country. You have also great cultural diversity in your country. So everything is in place to have an excellent Games.

You have visited China many times, what has impressed you the most about China?

Yes, I have visited some parts of China, but you have such a wide and vast and rich country that I probably only have seen a very, very small amount. But there are things that remain in your memory: the Palace in Beijing, the Great Wall. If you go to Shanghai, you will see Pudong. It is impressive. I like very much also what I saw in Xi'an, the terra cottas. I think Nanjing is absolutely a beautiful city and so is Guangzhou. What strikes me most is the cultural diversity of China and the richness of your culture.

(China Daily 10/27/2006 page5)