Fun may be a casualty of Beijing's effort for a perfect Olympic Games

Every Olympics host city has its own style, but the atmospherics at the last two Games have set a high standard to match. Revelers attending the 2004 Athens Games partied till dawn at street and beach venues replete with big bonfires, flowing ouzo and impromptu concerts. Organizers of the Sydney 2000 Games hired street musicians and jugglers to perform outside venues, and invited those without tickets to picnic beside huge outdoor Olympic viewing screens.

In China, however, tight visa policies have discouraged international visitors and pushed some longtime foreign residents out of the country, even as the government has banned most outdoor gatherings and told bar owners to close early. A plan by the 2012 host city London to throw a party in a downtown park was nixed. Officials have even forbidden picnic umbrellas in some districts, apparently fearful that terrorists or unruly protesters might lurk beneath the prosaic folds.

Authorities have also suspended outdoor music festivals, discouraged foreign entertainers and required Chinese, as well as foreign, bands to have their lyrics vetted. Encores must be approved in advance.

"For the government, fun is not part of the plan," said Wang Feng, a professor of sociology at UC Irvine, who has just returned from Beijing. "What's most important is not having any problems."

The threat of terrorism is a serious concern for any host of an international event, especially one that's welcoming 80 world leaders. But playing host is also a balancing act. Going overboard with security carries the risk of undermining the Olympic spirit, alienating visitors and, in this case, tarnishing China's impressive preparations funded by billion-dollar budgets.

"They seem so paranoid," said Ann Murphy, a law professor at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. "I think they're so afraid of shadows, they're missing the whole point."

Murphy, whose yearlong tenure as a Fulbright scholar in Beijing just ended, said that numerous times this month her family was visited or interrogated by police, airport security, neighborhood watch groups and housing managers.

"We were laughing that it was like being stalked," she said. "We loved the people and the country, but the government really scared us."

Even sponsors and corporate heavyweights find their blood pressure rising. Paul French, Shanghai-based founder of Access Asia, said the consumer marketing firm canceled a $500,000 party for a major international client after Chinese authorities barred outdoor venues, frustrated top executives seeking visas and made it clear that it would be difficult for athletes to leave the Olympic Village for meet-and-greet events.

"It just became one nightmare after the other," he said. "It's just not worth the hassle."

Many of the rules handed down are vague and only verbally communicated, making it extremely difficult to plan with confidence, said another organizer who declined to be identified for fear of even tougher enforcement.

"You can't see the bruises on my head," he said. "I've been saying a prayer every night."

Police this month issued a detailed list of restrictions on spectators. These include sleeping outdoors, wearing clothing with "identical designs" -- presumably a step that might in the government's eye hint at a cause or political movement -- or unfurling banners, even if they just say "Go USA!" or "Go China!" Violators face 15 days in jail and a $70 fine.

The Culture Ministry has also been busy. A handful of dance clubs and bars have been closed, mostly around Worker's Stadium. Karaoke clubs have been told to add transparent glass to private rooms under a so-called "Sunshine Project." And earlier this month, the ministry announced a ban on all foreign entertainers who have ever "threatened the national sovereignty" of China. The action came after singer Bjork shouted "Tibet! Tibet!" during a concert in March in Shanghai.

China says it's just enforcing its existing standards, including visa restrictions and a 2 a.m. bar closing

"We do want to have a festive atmosphere at venues," insisted Liu Shaowu, security director for the Beijing Olympic Committee. "Most of our measures are in line with past Games practices."

But others disagree.

"It's really a shame," said Tom Pattinson, editor of Time Out, an entertainment listings magazine, whose July issue for Beijing lists the best bars and nightspots. "Beijing had really bloomed in the past 18 months, but the next few months will be dull."