The two leaders met before the opening ceremony on Friday, issuing a joint statement in which they declared their opposition to any expansion of NATO as well as independence in any form for Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory. Putin, the Russian leader, was in Beijing, however, in a show of unity with China amid Moscow’s standoff with the West over Ukraine. On Thursday, India said the top diplomat at its embassy in Beijing would also not attend after the torch relay featured a Chinese soldier who was injured in a deadly 2020 clash between troops on the Indian-Chinese border. The sea of spectators in 2008 was also missing after China barred international fans, and Olympic organizers said they would not be selling tickets to the general public in China.Īlong with Biden, the leaders of Australia, Britain and Canada were absent from the opening ceremony. The Chinese flag was passed hand to hand as it entered the stadium. Only 3,000 performers, of which teenagers made up the vast majority, took part, compared with 15,000 in 2008, Xinhua said. In stark contrast to the epic 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, which ran for about four hours, this year’s pageantry was simplified and shortened to less than 100 minutes because of the pandemic and the cold weather, according to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. “We will do our best to deliver to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid Games.” “The world is turning its eyes to China, and China is ready,” Xi said Thursday ahead of the launch. Renowned Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who directed that ceremony as well as this one, told Chinese state media that the performers in this year’s show would be “ordinary people.” Though it began and ended with fireworks, there were only about 10 percent as many as the last time Beijing hosted the Olympics in 2008, according to Reuters. 'The ceremony overall was a scaled-down affair compared with past years, amid drives by both the IOC and the Chinese government to promote sustainability and rein in excess. Team United States during the athletes' parade at the opening ceremony. Athletes from Russia, another country that dominates winter sports, are once again competing under the banner of their national Olympic committee after a doping scandal. The Parade of Nations then took place, with athletes wearing masks alongside their winter coats.įar larger delegations are representing Winter Olympics powerhouses like the U.S., Germany, Canada and Norway - the country with by far the most medals in the history of the event. Dancers perform during the opening ceremony. Instead the focus was on a spectacular technology-driven visual show that featured fireworks and a light show before culminating with a block of ice that was “broken” by ice hockey players, giving way to five snow-white Olympic rings. Though Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and IOC President Thomas Bach were among those watching from the stands, the crowd was limited due to Covid restrictions. The Olympics start on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, China’s biggest holiday, which is also known as Spring Festival. With temperatures appropriately below freezing in the Chinese capital, the ceremony began with an opening sequence focused on youth and spring. “This was a riposte to President Joe Biden for skipping these Olympics and a message to the West: China won’t be lectured to on human rights, or on any other issue,” said Andy Browne, editorial director of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum and a China expert who appeared on NBC’s broadcast of the ceremony.Ĭhina is aiming to impress billions around the world with these Games, and perhaps momentarily transcend the fraught geopolitical atmosphere and strict Covid-19 restrictions that have characterized the runup to the competition. The pair placed the flame inside a giant snowflake, a closely watched moment with symbolic weight in more ways than one.
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