2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's winter culture and modern history.[1] The Games were officially opened by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and president of the People's Republic of China.[12] The ceremony began with a 24-second countdown, which represented the 24th Winter Olympics as well as the 24 solar terms in the Chinese calendar,[13] where Lichun (ecliptic longitude 315°), Feb 4, is generally regarded as the "Beginning of spring".[10] After the countdown, dancers carried tall and flexible glowing green stalks, showing the lifecycle of the dandelion, which eventually turned white and floated up into the sky as the seeds dispersed,[14] followed by fireworks displaying the words "立春" (lìchūn, lit.Twelve children lifted the national flag of China and entered the stadium, symbolizing the legacy of Beijing 2008 opening ceremony.[15] The Olympic Rings performance began with the giant LED screens showing a drop of ink that had fallen from the sky, turning into seething, rolling waves of the Yellow River, from which an ice cube crystallizes.24 "laser beams" sequentially "carve" the names of cities and countries of 23 previous Winter Olympics in Chinese and English on this cube.[21] Background music used during the parade of nations: Cai Qi, President of the Beijing 2022 organizing committee delivered a speech to thank and welcome the athletes, offering words of peace and unity.[21] IOC President Thomas Bach then gave his speech in which he thanked China for being gracious hosts and also extended gratitude to those on the doctors and nurses combating the global COVID-19 pandemic.[15] The performance began by a group of young people consisted of local and foreign university students, walking on the stage with the Chinese song "Let the World be Filled with Love" (让世界充满爱, Ràng shìjiè chōngmǎn ài) sung in the background.[24][18][22][15] Cross-country skier Wang Qiang and snowboard halfpipe athlete Liu Jiayu represented the athletes sworn the Olympic oath, while aerials judge Tao Yongchun and head of the Chinese coaching team in snowboard parallel giant slalom Ji Xiao'ou represented judges and coaches, respectively."After the Olympic vows, a short film "Champions of Tomorrow" was shown on the screen of the stadium, showing toddlers taking their first steps in winter sports, set to the rendition of Chinese nursery rhyme Two Tigers.Later that day, Taiwan announced that their Olympic team would not attend the opening and closing ceremonies in Beijing, formally due to anti-COVID-19 rules and delayed flights.
2022 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony2022 Winter OlympicsBeijing National StadiumBeijingCoordinatesOlympic Broadcasting ServicesYouTubeBid processbid detailsvenuestorch relayMarketingmascotsBroadcastersflag bearersChronological summaryMedal tablemedalistsConcerns and controversieswithdrawalsCOVID-19 casesWorld and Olympic recordsClosing ceremonyParalympicsBOCOWGOlympic CharterXi Jinpinggeneral secretary of the Chinese Communist Partypresident of the People's Republic of ChinaZhang Yimou2008 Summer Olympicsdiplomatic boycottsFrenchEnglishBao XiaofengMandarin ChineseHebei ProvinceChinese New Yearparamount leaderPeng LiyuanThomas Bach24 solar termsChinese calendarLichunecliptic longitude"Beginning of spring"beginning of springAltay PrefectureMy People, My Country56 ethnic groups of ChinaHonor Guard soldiersChinese national anthemYellow River2022 Winter Olympics Parade of NationsGreeceOlympicsWinter OlympicsOde to the MotherlandcollationSimplified Chinese charactersstrokesstroke count methodGioachino RossiniWilliam Tell OvertureEdward ElgarPomp and CircumstanceTchaikovskyThe NutcrackerJohann Sebastian BachOrchestral SuiteGiuseppe VerdiJohann Strauss IIVoices of Spring WaltzLudwig van BeethovenTurkish MarchThe Ruins of AthensSymphony No. 5 in C minorMikhail GlinkaRuslan and LyudmilaLibiamo ne' lieti caliciGeorges BizetCarmenJohannes BrahmsHungarian DanceÉmile WaldteufelThe Skaters' WaltzFranz von SuppéLight Cavalry OvertureAntonio VivaldiFour SeasonsWolfgang Amadeus MozartSymphony No. 40 in G minorAntonín DvořákSymphony No. 9 in E minorDanse des petits cygnesCai QiBeijing 2022 organizing committeeCOVID-19 pandemicHuangshanJohn LennonImaginecover songChinesepinyinLi Jiajun1998 Winter Olympics2002 Winter Olympics2006 Winter OlympicsShen XueHan XiaopengZhang Hui2010 Winter OlympicsZhang Hong2014 Winter OlympicsOlympic AnthemFuping CountyBaodingWang QiangLiu JiayuTwo Tigersmotion captureOlympic FlameOlympiaZhao WeichangLi YanYang Yang (A)