Reporters will be assigned an escort and must enter through an entrance on the east side of the square, a notice published on the municipal government's website said.

Media coverage from Tiananmen Square has being a topic of heated debate between Chinese officials and television networks that bought the broadcast rights to the 2008 Games.

In June, Beijing Olympic organisers reversed an earlier decision banning live broadcasts from the square after television networks lobbied hard for the right.

Tiananmen is one of the most sensitive sites for China's authorities, as it was the scene of weeks of pro-democracy protests in 1989 which ended in a bloody crackdown that left hundreds and possibly thousands dad.