The world is coming together for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
BEIJING, February 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The 2022 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony was held at the National Stadium in beijing Friday night.
Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Winter Games open after International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach’s speech.
“This year of the tiger is also an Olympic year,” Bach said. “Both the Year of the Tiger and the Olympic Tiger are synonymous with ambition, courage and strength. Today, thanks to this ambition, China is a country of winter sports. More than 300 million people practice winter sports in around 2,000 ski resorts and ice rinks.”
“Dear athletes,” he added, “We are all on your side. We are all supporting you. We are all cheering you on.”
Zhang Yimou, who was behind the epic opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, once again served as the chief opening ceremony director for the 2022 Winter Games. snowflakes were central to his central idea for the Friday night show, which featured them in two programs. The lighting of the Olympic flame also bore the same motif.
“Different snowflakes come beijing and assemble into a giant snowflake of humanity,” Zhang said of his concept for the opening ceremony in an interview with China Media Group (CMG).
Delegations from more than 90 countries and regions attended the ceremony, as well as world leaders, including the Russian President Vladimir Poutineserbian president Alexander Vucicargentinian president Alberto Fernándezand the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres among others.
As part of the Olympic tradition, the members of the Greek team were the first to enter the stadium during the parade of athletes, followed by the Turkish team. As hosts of the Winter Olympics, the Chinese team was the last to march. Speed skater Gao Tingyu and skeleton athlete Zhao Dan carried the Chinese national flag for the team.
At the end of the ceremony, the Olympic cauldron was lit in the center of the stadium by the torch passed through the hands of some 1,200 torchbearers, including Bach himself, during a three-day relay in the three zones of competition of beijingYanqing and Zhangjiakou.
Over the next 16 days, some 2,900 athletes will compete in 109 events across 15 disciplines across seven sports at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-02-04/Beijing-2022-Winter-Olympics-opening-ceremony-begins-17nLl93I95S/index.html
SOURCECGTN