Beijing: Beijing on Tuesday launched a global search campaign for ideas that would make the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics a spectacular and inspiring event.

?We are looking for proposals that could turn into wonders the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Games or the ones that contain inspirations or indications for the final schemes,? the executive vice-president of Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympics (BOCOG), Jiang Xiaoyu said.

?The ceremonies proposed should help to spread the Olympic spirit, create a jubilant atmosphere for the Games and a home-coming feeling for all the participants of the Olympic Games,? he said.

?They should also visualise the concepts of ?green Olympics?, ?high-tech Olympics? and ?people?s Olympics?, and interpret the rich connotations of ?harmony? and ?peace? that the idea of ?people?s Olympics? tries to convey to the whole world.?

The solicitation for the two proposals ends on July 31, 2005, he said at a press conference.

BOCOG will submit its ceremony schemes next year to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for approval, and the final versions will come out no later than May, 2007, he said.

The opening and closing ceremonies are the most eye-catching parts of an Olympic Games and are seen as one of the criteria for a successful Games.

The opening ceremony of the Athens Games won worldwide acclaim for its evocative tableau of 3,000 years of Greek history and culture. It registered a new record in TV viewing on a world scale, according to the IOC.

Jiang said that any interested individual, legal person or institution who wants to make a contribution to the Beijing Games is welcome, but non-Chinese nationals or organisations are required to form consortiums with Chinese citizens or organisations to participate.

Candidates may download the request form for proposals and other related documents from the official website of BOCOG ? www.Beijing2008.com.

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Games is scheduled on August 8, 2008 and the closing ceremony on August 24.