"I'm very confident that when the eighth of August comes next Friday, it would be the opening of one of the greatest games of all time," he said.

The Australian national who claimed to have visited China up to 50 times said he had witnessed the rapid social and economic development here.

"The rate of physical development is the most obvious change... and there're also changes in social activities and the people's dress, relaxation, communication and their awareness of the Olympic movement," he said.

"Many things in social and economic terms have changed in the past seven years (since Beijing won the bid to host the Games in 2001) and the changes are drastic over the past 30 years -- statistically 400 million people have been brought out of poverty over that period. That's astonishing."

Gosper spoke highly of Beijing's efforts to improve its air quality, saying the city had spent US$17 billion to curb pollution, which would leave an important legacy for the city and the whole country.