Chinese famous movie director Zhang Yimou is the best choice for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, said an Olympic specialist on ceremonies on Tuesday.

Scott Givens, experienced in the visionary aspects from work for five Olympic Games and two Pan American Games in the past 20 years, expressed his confidence in China's best-known director in delivering an "extraordinary opening ceremony" in 2008.

"I love his movies. I know Zhang. He is a wonderful man. With a strong team behind him, China could not be in better hands in operating the opening ceremony," he said.

Zhang was named chief director for the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies in April. BOCOG unveiled a high-profile creation team with Hollywood movie maker Stephen Spielberg, internationally renowned filmmaker Ang Lee and China's senior IOC member He Zhenliang among the culture and art consultants.

Compared with the eight-minute performance in the closing ceremony in Athens two years ago, Givens believed the openingceremony would give Zhang more room to display the depth of Chinese culture.

"As a foreigner, I like it very much. But I can understand that why it was not received very well among some Chinese," Givens referred to the performance featuring red lanterns, Beijing Opera, Chinese girls in mini-skirt playing traditional Chinese instruments.

"It is a very challenging thing to do the creative because in the eight minutes you have the aspiration of a country but China has 5,000 years of history," he said.

"In the opening ceremony, you have much more time. I think what you see in the opening ceremony will be great," he said.