Choruses from five continents -- Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australia -- are scheduled to perform the ode together via a satellite hookup that will be one of the highlights of the Feb. 7 opening ceremony at Minami Nagano Sports Park.

The South African chorus, performing at Cape Point, will be comprised of the white Philharmonic Choir of Cape Town and the black Harmony Singers and Princess Square Singers, musical director for the ceremonies Seiji Ozawa said Saturday.

''I have been told that this will be the first time (since the fall of apartheid rule in South Africa) that black and white choruses will sing together,'' Ozawa said after a recent visit to South Africa.

''This is something that no one could imagine before the election of President (Nelson) Mandela. It will be a deeply significant and historical moment,'' Ozawa said.

A 2,000-member chorus based at the Olympic stadium will also join the multicontinental performance, while Ozawa will lead an orchestra at the Nagano Prefectural Culture Hall.

Also joining the chorus will be the Sydney Philharmonic Choir, which will perform at the Sydney Opera House and the Ernst Senff Choir, singing in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

The China National Symphony Orchestra Choir, singing in Chinese and German, will perform at the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus will sing at the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations in New York.