There were no great surprises from the footage shot in the darkened stadium, though it showed the lavishness of the 3 1/2-hour ceremony, expected to boast a cast of 10,000. Director Zhang spent three years designing the spectacle, seeking to boil 5,000 years of Chinese history into a 50-minute show.

The most impressive part of the show is a countdown accompanied by drums, the SBS report said. Footage showed rows of hundreds of people, flashing cards to form the number two, then one, while they chanted in Chinese and strobe lights flashed.

SBS spokesman Park Jae-man said it was regrettable if Beijing Olympics organisers felt offended by the broadcast. “The purpose of the broadcast was aimed at heightening enthusiasm toward the Beijing Olympics by showing South Korean viewers the magnificence of the opening ceremony. There was no other intention,” Park said.