BEIJING, Feb. 5, 2022 — 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

BEIJING, Jan. 12, 2022 — When Beijing first won the hosting rights for the 2022 Winter Games, the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) made a promise to turn 300 million Chinese people into winter sports lovers. Zhao Weidong is a spokesperson of Beijing Winter Olympics Organising Committee and also the Director of the Media & Communications Department of Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Zhao did his best to get into the Olympic spirit by learning to ski, a sport unfamiliar to many in China. Zhao’s first foray into skiing was full of falling and frustration, but after a few lessons he gradually got the hang of it. His own experience of mastering skiing sets an example for many more Chinese to take up this activity, no matter the learning curve.

However, the global Covid-19 pandemic presents a hurdle that cannot be overcome with enthusiasm alone. With the pandemic still ongoing, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organising Committee is taking no chances with the safety of the competitors and staff. Beginning with the Tokyo Games last year, the IOC and the host city’s organizing committee have released playbooks to athletes and officials to ensure that all participants and residents remain safe and healthy. The second edition of the Beijing 2022 Playbook was released last month, which covered all COVID-19 countermeasures, including vaccination, customs entry requirements and game-time health monitoring and isolation. Beijing will deploy a closed-loop strategy to ensure that visiting athletes and officials can compete in a comparatively safe zone which is isolated from the general public. This strict strategy will ensure public safety and can serve as a template for future sporting events. Tickets for the upcoming Games will not be sold to overseas spectators or any spectators from high risk areas within China. In response to these restrictions, Beijing Winter Olympics Organising Committee has done trial runs for spectators at test events at the venues. Zhao and the rest of the Organising Committee are adamant that the Games can entertain fans of winter sports.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-01-06/300-Million-People-Hit-the-Ice-Snow-16BlyVAEuUo/index.html