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

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   Caption: Opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National 
Stadium in Beijing, China, February 4, 2022. /Xinhua News Agency

   Link: https://iop.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

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   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