Soldiers operating the huge scroll that formed the centrepiece of last week’s Olympic opening ceremony had to stay hidden under the structure for up to seven hours, wearing diapers because they were not allowed toilet breaks.

Nearly 900 soldiers hid underneath the scroll, many of them moving giant printing blocks with Chinese characters, the Beijing News reported.

Asked why the soldiers had to be in place so long, choreographer Han Lixun said it was because of the complexity of getting all the performers into position before spectators began entering the 91,000-seat Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium.