The 2022 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony kicked off on Friday at 6:30 a.m. EST with the floor, which was made up of high-definition LED screens created to appear like ice, dominating the performance due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The ceremony comes just four days after Chinese New Year and began with a countdown from 24, as Friday marks the first of the 24 solar terms of the Chinese lunar calendar, “Beginning of Spring.” This is even more fitting for the 24th ever Winter Olympic Games.
After the countdown, 400 performers holding LED sticks came together to make a beautiful figure representing spring willow flowers, followed by fireworks, one which said, “spring.”
“The Chinese believe the coming of Spring, in a season of freezing temperatures, often breeds new life. Friends come together and welcome the Lunar New Year, a new season - and #Beijing2022,” the Olympics Twitter wrote.
Cameras then turned toward, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who waved in preparation to watch the opening ceremony.
The traditional entrance of the national flag was conducted by two lines of people passing down the famed red flag. The people were meant to represent China’s 56 ethnic groups.
However, the United States did not send diplomats to the games in boycott, accusing China of genocide against the Uyghur people.
“U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can’t do that,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
The national anthem followed, as the LED floor changed to represent a river, based on a verse from an ancient Chinese poem. The lights then transitioned into an ice block, showing symbols from each year and city Winter Olympics have taken place, finishing with 24 for Beijing.
The ice then melted and turned into the Olympics rings, as the announcers welcomed the athletes into the stadium.
The stadium, which is about 40% full, has more people than the Tokyo Olympics, but less than usual. New York Times reporters noted how much quieter the stadium is without the roar of the crowd.
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