Jade is living in Shanghai and she gives her impressions few hours before the final countdown.

I spent last night riding my bicycle through Shanghai to observe the impact the Games could have on the city, though it is much more business-orientated than Beijing.

At first, I thought we were celebrating the New Year, as there were red flags everywhere in the form of Olympics banners, but still the mood was less festive than in Beijing.

At around 10am, I took to my bike again to enjoy the sun. At a crossroad, I could hear music from a giant screen, which was playing the Olympic anthem, "Welcome to Beijing," on MTV.

Violanie Guerin, president of the fencing club ‘Paris-Escrime', flew to Beijing with a group of children to support the French team.

"We arrived this morning from the beautiful city of Pingyao. We noticed that there are few police in the crowded streets. It's a bank holiday for all Beijing residents. There are few cars and some smog, probably due to the pollution, but also humidity as it is very hot.

We are staying in a hotel close to Tiananmen Square, an important meeting place where people go to celebrate the Games.

There are more Chinese tourists than European. The atmosphere is very festive and serene. Police are discreet and in lesser number than in Paris on July 14^th (Bastille Day). People fly their flag and take thousands of pictures. Everyone is mixing and we are very kindly greeted. France is very appreciated among the Chinese.

We bought blue, white and red material to sew our own French flag this afternoon. We watched the opening ceremony from Tiananmen Square where Chinese people gathered from the beginning of the afternoon to watch the fireworks.

Flore Coppin, who works in the French travel agency la Maison de la Chine in Beijing, strode along streets of the city during the opening ceremony.

The atmosphere was very pleasant. In the streets, people were waiting for fireworks and the person who was to light the torch....people were very happy when they realized that it was the former gymnast Li Ning.

In Tiananmen Square, the crowd was kept behind barricades. Everybody was wearing T-shirts and headbands reading "I love China".

I found the atmosphere not so festive. People were waiting for street events and fireworks.

Once the fireworks were over, policemen, armed with a loudspeaker, said : "Go back home now !" The crowd scattered very calmly.