IOC president Jacques Rogge believes the Beijing Olympics will help show the world 'the real China'.
On the eve of Friday's opening ceremony, Rogge told a news conference that the Games will open up the country to the rest of the world.
Rogge said: "The opening ceremony will be a very different matter here. Not only are the Chinese addressing the world, but they are addressing 1.3 billion people in their own country, and I think we will see the real China."
"I think this will mean a lot for the perception of China. On the one hand for the rest of the world to discover China will be to discover a country that is for most of the world a bit mysterious."
"But they will find a country with 5,000 years of history, a fascinating country."
"I believe the spotlight on China will help the world to understand China, and it will also help China to understand the world."
Rogge said he felt a thrill of excitement at the prospect of the opening of the Games, and 80 heads of state and royals will attend the ceremony in the Bird's Nest stadium.
"The excitement I feel and the IOC feels is that of an athlete before a major competition," Rogge added.
"We have been preparing for seven years with BOCOG and we feel like an athlete that has done everything that was possible and is longing for the competition to start."
"As for the significance of these Games, each Games is important for the Olympic movement, and each has its own identity."
"Clearly in Greece the Games was going back to its roots, to its birthplace in the home of classicism."
"China will be opening up the games to one fifth of mankind, and the next Games in London will be in the country that invented modern sport and gave athleticism to the world."
Meanwhile, the USA has selected a refugee from the Darfur conflict in Sudan to be its flag-bearer at Friday's opening ceremony.
Sudan-born 1500 metre runner Lopez Lomong will lead the American team into the Bird's Nest Stadium. He became a US citizen last year after being kidnapped aged six and spending 10 years in a refugee camp.
The choice is potentially embarrassing for the hosts given that China has close ties with Sudan.