The spectacular in 2008 set a sky high standard for every future host city to follow.

There is one constant factor in the Ceremonies then and now.

Ceremony director Zhang Yimou has been the mastermind behind both.

He carried the Olympic Torch yesterday, but has promised the Flame will be lit in "unprecedented" fashion at the end of the event in the National Stadium, designed and built for Beijing 2008 is officially known. 

That moment at the climax of the Ceremony tonight will bring back memories for Canadian Chef de Mission Catriona Le May Doan, who lit the Cauldron with four other sporting legends at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

"I was at four Opening Ceremonies and as an athlete it was very impactful," Le May Doan said this week.

“"It was at that moment that you understand the power of the Flame.

"You see people in the street watching the Flame in such awe, hope and wonder,"

The identity of the Cauldron lighter or lighters tonight is a closely guarded secret.

In 2008, the revered Chinese gymnast Li Ning, a triple Olympic gold medallist, soared through the air to light a Cauldron set on the roof of the Stadium.

There will be no repetition of that because the Cauldron is now to be found at ground level in front of the "Birds Nest" on the giant park known as the "Olympic Green".

It fell to figure skater Yuna Kim, the Vancouver 2010 ladies singles champion, to light the Flame four years ago in Pyeongchang.

The Torch had been carried up a pathway to the Cauldron by two members of the women’s ice hockey team, composed of players from North and South Korea.

The Korean team had entered under the Unification flag  to the strains of Arirang, a folk song popular on both sides of the border which divides the peninsula politically.

The spirit of rapprochement kindled at that time has all but disappeared.

There will be no North Korean team marching in as they are currently suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) having missed taking part in last year's re-arranged Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

The parade of nations will be according to Chinese characters, but Greece will be the first nation to enter.

Because Milan Cortina is 2026 host, Italy will be the penultimate team to walk in tonight.

They will be followed by the host nation.

The raising of the Olympic Flag symbolically suggests that for the next fortnight, Beijing is no longer the capital of China, but "Olympia".

There are many, though, that will find the themes of togetherness and peace problematic with tensions on the Ukraine border and concerns over human rights in the host nation.

Guests are expected to include Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky.

Human rights groups have criticised the decision of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to accept an invitation to Beijing.

A few hours before the Ceremony, UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid is scheduled to receive the Olympic Torch from IOC President Thomas Bach.

The Ceremony will also include the taking of the oath by two athletes and representatives of the judges and team coaches.

An oath was taken at the Opening Ceremony of the first Winter Sports Week in Chamonix in 1924 by French competitor Camille Mandrillon who took part in the military patrol event, a sport similar to biathlon.

Held under the "High Patronage of the International Olympic Committee" this was later designated as the first Olympic Winter Games.