Will it be NBA star Yao Ming? Will it be Olympic gold medalis t Liu Xiang? Some reports have suggested a child survivor from the earthquake area will light the flame, to embody the Olympic spirit of fraternity. Whoever it is, this will be a life changing event for him as only a select few have been given such an honor.

I don't think it will be Liu Xiang. For one, he has already been a part of the Olympic torch relay sometime late last month. For another, I don't think Chinese officials will risk injury and fatigue to one of their prized athletes and an almost shoo-in for another gold medal. Yao Ming, on the other hand, is highly possible. I saw his interview on CNN last night and, when asked if he'll be the flame lighter, he was temporarily taken aback, at a loss for words - a sign of 'guilt' perhaps? If not the flame lighter, I think he'll be one of the last torch bearers on opening day. He's too big in the Chinese sports arena to be overlooked for such an honor.

Update: The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has begun, heralded by a fantastic display of pomp, pageantry and precision by the Chinese. Read more about my take on the opening ceremony HERE.

Over the years, it has become a tradition to let famous athletes or former athletes be the last runners in the relay. Remember Muhammad Ali in Atlanta in 1992 or Aborigine athlete Cathy Freeman in Sydney in 2000? On the other hand, some people who have lit the Olympic flame were not famous, but nevertheless symbolize Olympic ideals. Japanese runner Yoshinori Sakai was born in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the day the nuclear weapon Little Boy destroyed that city. He symbolised the rebirth of Japan after the Second World War when he opened the 1964 Tokyo Games. At the 1976 Games in Montreal, two teenagers — one from the French-speaking part of the country, one from the English-speaking part — symbolized the unity of Canada. It is therefore possible that an earthquake survivor may be tasked to light the Olympic flame on Friday.

But how will the Olympic flame be lit in the Opening Ceremony? No doubt Beijing has to outshine lighting ceremonies in the past, most notable of which was the one in Barcelona. In the 1992 Olympics, a handicapped archer shot a flaming arrow immediately over the cauldron to light it. The scene was so spectacular not only for this drama but also because of the risks involved. A sudden gust of wind or human error could have caused the arrow to miss its target. Fortunately, it didn't, to the delight of the capacity crowd.

Barcelona Olympics Opening Ceremony/Flame Lighting

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The lighting ceremony in Australia was also dramatic. For the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Cathy Freeman walked across a circular pool of water and ignited the cauldron through the water, surrounding herself within a ring of fire. The cauldron then rose out of the water around her and traveled up a cascading water fall up one of the sides of the stadium, where it finally rested on a tall silver pedestal (although at first, I thought something had gone wrong because it took forever for the cauldron to rise).

Sydney Olympics Opening Ceremony/Flame Lighting

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According to one website, current rumors about the Beijing Olympic flame lighting ceremony have it based around an ancient Chinese legend of a phoenix returning to her nest, expressing the traditional Chinese concept of harmony between man and nature. This is highly possible since this ties up with the overall design of the stadium, popularly known as 'The Bird's Nest'. With China's reputation for pageantry, the world is expecting nothing less than a spectacular.

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