Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan sing the theme song during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony yesterday at the National Stadium in Beijing. --Xinhua

Cheers from the 90,000-strong crowd reverberated through the National Stadium, when Chinese vocalist Liu Huan and British songstress Sarah Brightman presented the theme song for the night, You and Me, at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics last night.

Flashlights and countless camera flashes offered the backdrop to a towering globe on which Liu and Brightman sang their duet, written and composed by France-based Chinese songwriter Chen Qigang.

"I think the show has succeeded in sending the message ... communicating with the world in harmony," Liu said after his performance.

"Being up there was one of the biggest thrills in my life," Brightman said.

She also performed the theme Amigos para Siempre at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games with Spanish tenor Jose Carreras.

The 48-year-old soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer wowed Chinese audiences in a concert in Beijing on May 30, 2004, at the Capital Gymnasium.

Brightman has also toured other cities in China, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou.

She gained fame through performances in hit musicals such as Andrew Lloyd Weber's Cats and The Phantom of the Opera.

Her style of blending classical vocals and pop-inspired instrumentation and arrangement has earned her 150 gold and platinum awards in 34 countries.

Similarly, Liu Huan is one of the most popular singers in China.

As composer of the One World, One Dream Olympic song, and one of the country's best known musicians, the stocky 45-year-old Tianjin native majored in French and is a self-taught singer-songwriter.

Liu first became known for composing music for Chinese TV dramas, including the TV series Beijingers in New York, a huge hit in the early 1990s.