The 24th Winter Olympic Games opens in Beijing

On the evening of February 4, the opening ceremony of the 24th Beijing Winter Olympic Games was grandly held at the National Stadium. President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and announced the opening of the Winter Olympics. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yue Yuewei
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 4th. Build a dream of ice and snow, and move towards the future. On the evening of February 4, 2022, the opening ceremony of the 24th Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which attracted worldwide attention, was grandly held at the National Stadium. President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and announced the opening of the Winter Olympics. The Chinese civilization and the Olympic Movement once again joined hands to play a splendid movement of unity, peace and friendship for all mankind.



On the evening of February 4, the opening ceremony of the 24th Beijing Winter Olympic Games was grandly held at the National Stadium. Party and state leaders such as Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng, and Wang Qishan attended the opening ceremony. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yue Yuewei
Party and state leaders such as Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng, Wang Qishan, IOC President Bach, and leaders and VIPs from all over the world attended the opening ceremony.
Under the night, the National Stadium is dazzling and beautiful. This building, which is famous for its bird's nest shape, is about to make history and become the first stadium in the world to hold the opening ceremonies of the "Double Olympics" of the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics. .
At about 19:15, VIPs such as heads of state, heads of government, members of the royal family and heads of international organizations from all over the world arrived one after another. At this time, the golden hall was full of festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival and the passion and vitality of the Winter Olympics.
Before the official opening ceremony, the atmosphere of the National Stadium was warm. Accompanied by cheerful music, people from Beijing and Hebei came to the venue and greeted guests and friends from all over the world with simple and hot square dance performances. The huge "Fu" character on the venue creates a festive atmosphere for the Chinese New Year. On the big screen, people from 10 cities in China, including Zhangjiakou in Hebei, Harbin in Heilongjiang, and Nanjing in Jiangsu, showed the world the enthusiasm and passion of China's "300 million people participating in ice and snow sports". UN Secretary-General Guterres also delivered a video message. On and off the field, China and the world sang the ice and snow joyous song of "Together to the Future".
At 19:57, the Chinese and English words "Happy Chinese New Year" appeared on the huge screen of tens of thousands of square meters of ice and snow in the center of the stadium. To the music of "Peace - A Community of Destiny", Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan walked to the rostrum with Bach and others and waved to the audience. There were long and warm applause and cheers from the audience.

February 4, coincides with the first solar term of the twenty-four solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar, "Lichun". At 20:00, the countdown performance of the opening ceremony began in the time rotation of the traditional Chinese calendar. The twenty-four solar terms flashed on the big screen in sequence, and the audience shouted in unison as the numbers changed: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 , 4, 3, 2, 1... In the cheers, on the central screen of the stadium, a bright moon rose, colorful butterflies fluttered, dandelion seeds flew into the air, and gorgeous fireworks lit up the bird's nest, blooming. The Chinese and English shapes of "Lichun" convey the news of spring in winter.
 

On the evening of February 4, the opening ceremony of the 24th Beijing Winter Olympic Games was grandly held at the National Stadium. This is President Xi Jinping waving to everyone on the podium. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Peng
The announcer introduced Chinese President Xi Jinping and International Olympic Committee President Bach to the audience. Xi Jinping and Bach stood up and waved to everyone, and the audience burst into warm applause again.
A child trumpeter played the melodious melody of "My Country and Me". Representatives from all walks of life, advanced model figures, and 56 ethnic groups in China slowly passed the bright five-star red flag to the flag-raising area of the stadium with both hands, and handed it over to the soldiers of honor. All stood up and sang the national anthem of the People's Republic of China. The five-star red flag is slowly rising and fluttering in the wind.
The lights in the venue dimmed, and a drop of ice-blue ink fell from the sky along the huge vertical screen, transforming into the water of the Yellow River. A giant ice cube was formed from the world of ice and snow. The history of the city hosting the 23 Winter Olympics in the past flashed back to it with the carving of 24 "laser knives", and it was finally fixed as "2022 Beijing, China". Six ice hockey players "slipped" into the arena, made swings and hit the ball, driving the intense carving of "laser cutters", and finally shaped the Ice Cube into a crystal clear five rings of ice and snow.
At 20:17, the athletes' entry ceremony began. A "China Door" carved by ice and snow opened, the Greek delegation from the birthplace of the Olympic Movement entered first, the Italian delegation from the next Winter Olympics and the Chinese delegation, the host of the current Winter Olympics, appeared last, and other countries and regional delegations will enter the venue in the order of simplified Chinese strokes. Delegations from 91 countries and regions participated in the Winter Olympics. In the next 16 days, nearly 3,000 athletes will compete on the same field under the banner of the Five Rings. With the background music composed of 19 world famous songs, the athletes entered the stadium and waved to the audience from time to time. The audience welcomed them with warm applause and cheers.
In the passionate melody of "Singing the Motherland", the host Chinese delegation entered the field last, and two flag bearers, the Chinese female sled player Zhao Dan and the famous speed skating player Gao Tingyu, were at the forefront of the team. There was thunderous applause on the field, and the cheers rose from wave to wave. There are 388 Chinese delegations in this Winter Olympics, including 177 athletes, the largest number of Chinese participants in the previous Winter Olympics.
After the athletes entered the stadium, the leaders of the delegations held high snowflake-shaped guide cards and gathered together to form a "big snowflake". The theme is vividly presented.
Afterwards, Cai Qi, chairman of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, delivered a speech. He said that on the occasion of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Tiger, athletes, coaches and guests from all over the world gathered in Beijing to share the Winter Olympics, witness Beijing becoming the world's first "Double Olympic City", and witness the continuation of the Olympic Games in China. Write new legends. Under the personal promotion of President Xi Jinping and the strong leadership of the Chinese government, we have practiced the concept of green, shared, open, and clean Olympics, and cooperated with the International Olympic Committee to overcome the impact of the epidemic and achieve the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics as scheduled. The world has shown the tenacity of human beings to face difficulties and overcome challenges. Let us walk hand in hand and write a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, delivered a speech. He thanked the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, Chinese government departments and all Chinese people. Bach said that China's extraordinary achievements in winter sports have opened a new era of global winter sports, which will bring global winter sports participation to a new level and benefit the Chinese people and winter sports enthusiasts around the world.



On the evening of February 4, the opening ceremony of the 24th Beijing Winter Olympic Games was grandly held at the National Stadium. President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and announced the opening of the Winter Olympics. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Peng
At 21:51, the opening ceremony ushered in an exciting moment. President Xi Jinping announced: the opening of the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing! Immediately, the audience boiled, and bright fireworks rose into the air, showing the shape of a "welcoming pine" in the air, expressing the welcome to the guests from all over the world, and the applause and cheers continued for a long time.
76 young people from all over the world walked into the stadium and walked side by side. Wherever they passed, a long scroll of photos showing people from all over the world sharing weal and woe, overcoming the epidemic together, and fighting passionately for their dreams unfolded slowly, like a long river of images flowing quietly. On both sides of the long river, the Chinese knot pattern, which means unity and auspiciousness, gradually transformed into the Chinese and English words "together to the future", expressing the beautiful expectation of walking together and creating the future together.
In the quiet singing of the song "Imagination", 24 skaters in red sports uniforms were divided into four groups, and they slid across the ice with vigorous posture, leaving a long track, which showed the new Olympic motto: " Faster, higher, stronger - more united", showing the common dream of all mankind. In the air, a glowing humanoid simulating snow jumping on a high platform flew over the five rings of ice and snow. At the same time, the vertical screen images show multiple items of ice and snow sports, presenting the beauty of ice and snow sports together.
Six flag bearers entered the stadium with the Olympic flag. They are the representatives of outstanding Chinese athletes in winter sports at different times - Luo Zhihuan, the first world champion in winter sports in New China, and Li Jiajun, the first Chinese athlete to win a medal in the men's event at the Winter Olympics. "Breakthrough pair skater Shen Xue, China's first Winter Olympics snow event gold medalist Han Xiaopeng, and Vancouver Winter Olympics short track speed skating women's relay gold medalist Zhang Hui, who achieved zero gold medals in China's Winter Olympics speed skating event. Breakthrough athlete Zhang Hong.
44 children from the mountainous area of Fuping, Hebei, sang the Olympic anthem in Greek. During the singing, the Olympic flag was slowly raised and fluttered high along with the five-star red flag.
In front of the five-ring flag, Chinese cross-country skier Wang Qiang and snowboarder Liu Jiayu, Chinese freestyle referee Tao Yongchun, and Chinese snowboard coach Ji Xiaoou took the oath on behalf of all participating athletes, referees, coaches and officials.
On the big screen, a short film called "Future Champion" attracted the attention of the audience. The little toddlers became lovers of ice and snow sports. Although they fell and climbed up again and again, they always smiled and faced each other. Frustration, lighthearted and humorous images make the audience laugh. Amidst laughter, innocent children appeared in the stadium. Holding the glittering "white doves", they ran freely and happily, and gathered from all directions to the center of the stadium, forming a heart shape surrounding the "big snowflake".
At 22:10, the Olympic spark from Olympia arrived at the National Stadium. The torch relay of the Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou from February 2 to 4. The Olympic Forest Park, the Summer Palace, the Badaling Great Wall, the Grand Canal Forest Park... The Olympic Fire traverses the ancient and the modern, connects the past and the future, and shows the world the profound and innovative Chinese civilization.
7 torchbearers held the torch high, divided into 6 sticks, and carried out the final pass in the stadium. Zhao Weichang, a "post-50s" athlete who has won 11 consecutive national championships in speed skating, and Li Yan, a "post-60s" athlete who won 1 gold medal and 2 bronze medals in the short track speed skating competition at the Calgary Winter Olympics, are in the winter in Salt Lake City. Yang Yang, a "post-70s" athlete who achieved the breakthrough of the "zero" gold medal in the Winter Olympics of the Chinese sports delegation at the Olympic Games, and Su Bingtian, a "post-80s" athlete, the Asian record holder of the men's 100m, won the short track speed at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Zhou Yang, a "post-90s" athlete who is the champion of the women's 1500-meter skating, and a Chinese athlete who has created a brilliant record in the relay run, won warm applause from the audience.
The last ball was passed to two "post-00" athletes - cross-country skier Dinigel Yilamujiang and Nordic biathlete Zhao Jiawen. Under everyone's attention, two torchbearers ran to the "big snowflake" surrounded by "white pigeons" and embedded the torch in the center of the "big snowflake", forming the main torch composed of snowflake-shaped guiding cards for all delegations. For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the main torch uses the "light fire" method, which fully reflects the concept of green environmental protection.
Gorgeous fireworks rose into the sky, and the entire stadium turned into a sea of joy.
This is a moment that more than 1.4 billion Chinese people will never forget, and another glorious moment for the Winter Olympics. After more than six years of meticulous preparations and overcoming the adverse impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Chinese people will surely present a simple, safe and wonderful Olympic Games to the world with hard work, courage and wisdom.
Tonight, Beijing embraces the world!
Tonight, the world is watching Beijing!
International VIPs attending the opening ceremony include: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Cambodian King Sihamoni, Singaporean President Halimah, Kazakhstan President Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Zaparov, Tajikistan President Rahmon, Turkmenistan President Berdymukhamedov, President Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, President Sisi of Egypt, Emir Tamim of Qatar, Crown Prince Mohammed of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates, President Duda of Poland, President Vucic of Serbia, Luxembourg Archduke Henry, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Argentine President Fernandez, Ecuadorian President Russo, Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun Erden, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, President of the Bosnian Council of Ministers Tegeltia, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Marape, President of the Korean National Assembly Park Byung-suk, Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand, UN Secretary-General Guterres, President of the UN General Assembly Shahid, Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization Deng Hongsen, New Development Bank President Troyo, Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretary-General Zhang Ming and other heads of international organizations are official representatives of nearly 70 countries, regions and international organizations.
Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing, Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, State Councilor, President of the Supreme People's Court, Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing and members of the Central Military Commission attended the opening ceremony.
He Yicheng, Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, and Hong Xiuzhu, former Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang, attended the opening ceremony.
The head of the International Olympic Committee and others attended the opening ceremony.