The performance by opera stars Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras will mark China's International Olympic Day as the country gears up to bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, co-organizer Asia Plus Intermedia Holdings said in a statement.

China's ministry of culture, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee and the Beijing city government are also co-organizers of the event.

It is not the first time the vast former imperial palace has formed the backdrop for opera. In September 1998 Puccini's opera Turandot was performed here by the Florence Opera House Company with Giovanna Casolla playing the icy Princess Turandot.

China will try all out to win the battle to host the 2008 Games against competition from Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul.

The International Olympic Committee will decide in July which city will stage the Games.

(China Daily 01/16/2001)