PR94409

BEIJING, Feb. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games was held at the National

Stadium in Beijing on Friday night.

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Winter Games open after the

International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach delivered a speech.

"This Year of the Tiger is also an Olympic Year," Bach said. "Both the Year of

the Tiger and the Olympic Tiger stand for ambition, courage and strength.

Today, thanks to this ambition, China is a winter sport country. Well over 300

million people are engaged in winter sports in about 2,000 ski resorts and ice

rinks."

"Dear athletes," he added, "We are all standing with you. We are all supporting

you. We are all cheering you on."

Zhang Yimou, who's behind the epic opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer

Olympics in 2008, was again the chief director for the 2022 Winter Games

opening ceremony. Snowflakes were at the heart of his central idea for Friday

night's show, which featured them in two programs. The lighting of the Olympic

flame also carried the same motif.

"Different snowflakes come to Beijing and assemble into a giant snowflake of

humankind," Zhang said of his concept for the opening ceremony in an interview

with China Media Group (CMG).

Delegations from over 90 countries and regions attended the ceremony, together

with world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Serbian

President Aleksandar Vucic, Argentine President Alberto Fernández, and UN

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres among others.

As part of the Olympic tradition, members of Team Greece were the first to

enter the stadium during the parade of athletes, followed by Team Turkey. As

the host of the Winter Olympics, Team China were the last to march. Speed

skater Gao Tingyu and skeleton athlete Zhao Dan carried the Chinese national

flag for the squad.

At the end of the ceremony, the Olympic Cauldron was lit at the center of the

stadium by the torch that had passed through the hands of some 1,200

torchbearers, including Bach himself, during a three-day relay in the three

competition zones of Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.

In the following 16 days, some 2,900 athletes will compete in 109 events of 15

disciplines under 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

Source: CGTN

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=414602

   Caption: Opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Stadium in

Beijing, China, February 4, 2022. /Xinhua News Agency

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=414604

   Caption: A part of the performance at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic

Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, China, February 4, 2022. /Xinhua News

Agency

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=414605

   Caption: Athletes of Team China attend the parade at the opening ceremony of the 2022

Winter Olympic Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, China, February 4,

2022. /Xinhua News Agency