Video leaked of Olympic opening ceremony

Last Updated: Thursday, July 31, 2008 | 9:05 AM ET

CBC Sports

Performers exit Beijing's National Stadium following Wednesday's rehearsal. (Oded Balilty/Associated Press)

A Korean television crew reportedly gained access to Beijing's National Stadium and taped Monday's rehearsal of the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games.

The leaked footage infuriated Olympic organizers, who have worked diligently to keep details of the highly anticipated gala a secret.

And it further strained the tense relationship between the organizers and members of the international media irked by restrictions on internet access.

Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing Organizing Committee, told the Wall Street Journal that the video was "obtained through irregular means" and the Seoul Broadcasting System did not act "in conformance with professional ethics."

The video shows thousands of performers — kung-fu fighters, musicians, rhythmic gymnasts, trapeze artists and traditional Chinese dancers — on elaborate sets, notably a massive roll of Oriental parchment.

Costumed acrobats fly on high wires and, in one spectacular vignette, a three-dimensional whale swims around the stadium, which is bathed in oceanic blue.

At the centre of the stadium is planet Earth, dotted with people spanning the globe.

Other scenes reveal what appear to be portrayals of the evolution of Chinese culture from ancient to modern times, the latter depicted by the rise and spread of box-like skyscrapers across the stadium floor.

Also taped was a stunning 10-second countdown, reportedly laser enhanced and likely planned for the lighting of the Olympic torch.

Organizers supposedly have spent the past three years preparing the spectacle, overseen by noted Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, at a cost of $300 million US.

The Canberra Times said that everyone involved in the ceremony was "required to sign confidentiality agreements. Breaches of the secrecy agreement are punishable by up to seven years [in] jail."

Video of the rehearsal was broadcast on Korean television by the SBS, but several media outlets confirmed it has been banned from websites in mainland China.

China routinely blocks internet access to certain websites and reporters working at Beijing's Main Press Centre have been denied access to sites dealing with Tibet and political and human rights issues.

Chinese officials promised "complete freedom to report," but Kevan Gosper of the International Olympic Committee told reporters Tuesday that pertains only to Olympic topics and "did not necessarily extend to free access and reporting on everything that relates to China."