"Although a few people with ulterior motives have tried to interfere with and vilify the Beijing Olympics ... this can never alter the determination of the 1.3 billion Chinese to successfully hold the Games for the world," the Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily, said in an editorial.
The city will be desperate to prevent a repeat of the one-year countdown, when Free Tibet activists scaled the Great Wall, smog smothered Beijing and torrential rain brought parts of the capital to a standstill.
Security in Beijing has been noticeably stepped-up following last month's anti-Chinese protests in Tibet, the torch relay and China's assertion that it has broken up terrorist plots to attack the Games.
MEDIA CONCERNS
Beijing's promise to ensure complete media freedom has also been called into question, especially following Chinese criticism of foreign reporters for perceived bias in their coverage of the Tibet protests, with some reporters receiving death threats.
"If allowed to continue, the reporting interference and hate campaigns targeting international media may poison the pre-Games atmosphere for foreign journalists," said Melinda Liu, President of the Foreign Correspondents Club of China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao denied the Chinese public harboured anti-Western sentiment.
"What they want is only impartial and fair media coverage. That is legitimate," Liu said.
China has lashed out at human rights groups and some European and U.S. politicians who have, in China's words, tried to politicise the Games and raised the prospect of an Olympic boycott in light of the crackdown on protests in Tibet.
Olympics chiefs have praised the city's preparations and its showpiece stadiums, the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, have drawn wide acclaim.
"The Beijing Organising Committee has put a tremendous amount of effort into putting on a great Games for the athletes," the IOC said in a statement.
"It is currently fine-tuning its operations and we are satisfied by the assurances that we have received across a number of areas of Games preparations, ranging from media service levels to environmental contingency plans for improved air quality."
