Dressed identically and chanting the same upbeat slogans, they appear at every Olympic event to cheer on Chinese and foreign competitors alike.

The chant, devised by the spiritual civilisation development office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the ministry of education and the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee (Bocog), was taught to the students in the past two months. Bocog also brought in cheerleaders from the New England Patriots American Football team, to teach US-style razzamatazz to the 600 volunteers who will cheerlead at beach volleyball and basketball events.

Organised cheering is yet more evidence of Beijing's determination to micro-manage every aspect of the Olympics, although officials do not see it that way.