While the Australian spring remains cool and blustery on the eve of the opening of the Sydney Olympics, things have started to heat up in the bid to host the 2008 Summer Games.

Osaka and four other finalists bidding for the Games kicked off their campaigns in Sydney on Monday, vying for the attention of the International Olympic Committee members who got together for the first day of their three-day general assembly meeting.

The other four finalists for the 2008 Olympics are Beijing, Istanbul, Paris and Toronto. The host city will be chosen at the next IOC meeting in Moscow in July.

On Monday, the campaigners were stationed in their publicity booths set up in the entrance of the hall of the hotel where the IOC is meeting.