I think that it is hard to make the opening bigger, but perhaps it is easier to make it different and more original. 

The four-hour opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics came to a spectacular conclusion today when Li Ning, the former China gymnast, was hoisted to the roof of the Bird's Nest Stadium to light a giant Olympic flame.

The torch's journey to Beijing had been highly controversial, with demonstrations in London and other cities over China's human rights record in Tibet, but there were no disruptions to a stunning visual show which, if nothing else, has raised the bar dauntingly high for the organisers of London 2012.

Read the article at Times Online: Olympic Opening Ceremony spectacular sets the bar high for London 2012