SHANGHAI, Aug. 8 -- STILL a year away, the Beijing Olympics are poised to be the grandest Games of all.

"This is not a simple sports event at all," said Tu Mingde, a vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee and a key member of the winning bid committee. "Its meaning surpasses the importance of sports itself."

Nothing shows the striving better than the 91,000-seat National Stadium, the striking centerpiece that rises abruptly above the ancient capital. Known as the "Bird's Nest," it's a mammoth mass of twisted steel girders, a radical design that melds tons of sharp edges - resembling silver twigs - into a smooth bowl that soars 300 feet above the spread of the Olympic Green below.

The capital is spending US$40 billion to remake its subways, roads and the Olympic venues.

The volunteer staff numbers 560,000, one for every expected foreign visitor, and a world TV audience of 4 billion is predicted.

Even the torch relay is super-sized - 22,000 torchbearers will travel 136,500 kilometers across five continents, including the summit of Mount Everest.

A year out, at least one verdict is in.

"I am sure that the Olympic Games in Beijing will be the best in Olympic history," former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch said during a recent visit to the Chinese capital.

Several of the city's 12 new venues are finished and, except for the Bird's Nest, they'll all be done by the end of the year. All venues would have been completed a year ago, but the IOC asked builders to slow down.

Olympic chief Jacques Rogge said he "could not be more happy" about the state of preparations in Beijing, especially in the fundamental aspects of running the Games such as venue construction.

"They are well ahead of schedule, the infrastructure is there, there is still a little bit of work to do on the Olympic Stadium but that will be ready in March," he said.

"Since I've been involved in Games preparations, which is since Sydney, they are the best prepared of all," he added.

Many are picking China to dislodge the United States as the No. 1 gold-medal winner, which would leave another indelible mark on the games.

"I think it's going to be a very difficult to follow their act," said Steven Roush, chief of sport performance for the US Olympic Committee. "I think the bar has been set pretty high when it comes to the quality of the venues. This is going to draw an audience that has typically not been attracted to the Olympics."

Beijing has 60 sponsors and suppliers, almost 50 percent more than Athens in 2004. There are three "official" beers, not just one, and Adidas is widely reported to have paid US$100 million for its sponsorship.

Gerhard Heiberg of Norway, who leads the IOC's marketing commission, said more than US$1 billion has been paid locally for the rights to the lucrative five-ring emblem.

Rogge, who competed in sailing at three Olympic Games, clearly has little time for discussions over whether the US or China will top the medals table next August.

"The spirit of the Olympic Games ... is not about nations, it's not about continents, it's not about supremacy," he said.

"It's about the pursuit of excellence by individuals who train very hard for that and do that within the Olympic spirit of fair play, brotherhood."

Asked how he would like the Beijing Games to go down in history, the 65-year-old orthopedic surgeon said: "I would like the Games to be held in peace, in maximum security, with the least number of doping cases possible. And definitely with great athletic prowess, with great champions emerging because that's the great magic of the Games.

"And if at the same time we can have a situation where the world at large discovers China, and it's values and its assets, then I will be a very happy man."