As the world waits for the opening ceremony to inaugurate the Beijing Olympics in a blaze of fireworks and pageantry, I thought I’d give you a peek behind the scenes at the temporary newsroom that will give you the story throughout the Games.

            Situated in the main press centre in the Olympic Village, the centre is home to the more than 30,000 journalists and support staff from the world’s media who gather to cover the games.

The halls are filled with impromptu reunions of people who last saw each other at the last summer Olympics in Athens or the last winter ones in Turin.

Reuters has been covering the Olympics since the modern Games began in 1896, so we’re well prepared for the logistical puzzle that will spit out 150-200 stories, 1,000 photographs and many minutes of video highlights every day, along with a complete run of results.

Our team is a mix of sport experts, China experts and all-around journalists who bring myriad talents to bear on a story that runs from results to human interest to politics and economics. And, of course, the technical geniuses who make sure that the temporary set-up in Beijing works as well as, if not better than, our permanent bureaux around the world.

            As soon as the actual competitions begin, the newsroom will house only a steady crew of editors while the reporters and photographers will fan out to various events in a complex logistical dance. With 28 sports, 302 events and demanding subscribers interested in every country represented and nearly every athlete competing, the combinations are mind boggling!

((Photos: Laszlo Balogh/Reuters. From top: the newsroom, planning photo coverage, editors at work)