Beijing, 04 Feb. 2022 (Xinhua News)

At 0800 PM, local Beijing time of today, Friday, 2022 Winter Olympics Sports took off in Beijing, Capital of People’s Republic of China with a spectacular opening ceremonies in presence of a large number of world leaders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the 24th Olympic Winter Games open at the National Stadium in Beijing

The program was divided into 15 segments, including the parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic flame. As the ceremony started, the lights dimmed and a 24-second countdown followed.

The opening day of the 2022 Winter Olympics coincides with the first of the 24 solar terms “Beginning of Spring”, which is also the first of the 24 solar terms of the year. It is used to count down the last seconds before the ceremony, reflecting the Chinese people’s understanding of time.

The crowd cheered as fireworks exploded overhead.

At 0816 PM, Beijing local time, as an Olympic tradition, Greece, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, was the first team to start the parade of athletes into the Bird’s Nest Stadium.

China, as hosts, marched in last as host of the sports; future Olympic Winter Games hosts Italy (Milano-Cortina 2026) entered the second-from-last under a change approved by the IOC Executive Board in December. 2019.

At 0923, the Chinese Olympic delegation entered the opening ceremony with skeleton athlete Zhao Dan and speed skater Gao Tingyu as the flagbearers for the host nation. The Chinese contingent includes 177 athletes, the country’s largest ever presence at the Winter Olympics.

Other than that, athletes entered in stroke order of their team names as written in the Chinese characters, with Turkey following Greece.

The teams were led by a placard bearer dressed in costumes with ice and snow patterns. The placards, in the shape of a glowing snowflake with National/Regional Olympic Committee names on them, are inspired by the “Chinese knot,” which is an ancient Chinese craft of hand knitting, symbolizing solidarity and prosperity.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday delivered a video address at the opening ceremony of the 139th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said that China will do its best to deliver to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic Winter Games.

Noting that the world today, under the combined impact of changes unseen in a hundred years and a once-in-a-century pandemic, is entering a new period of turbulence and transformation and facing multiple challenges to humanity, Xi said the IOC has led the Olympic Movement in forging ahead with courage and fortitude, playing an important and unique role in galvanizing global solidarity and cooperation to tide over this difficult time.

He thanked the IOC for its active contribution to the development of sport in China over the years and for its strong support and guidance for China’s bid and preparation for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

Xi stressed that from “One World, One Dream” in 2008 to “Together for a Shared Future” in 2022, China has taken an active part in the Olympic Movement and consistently championed the Olympic spirit. China is committed to pursuing the Olympic ideal with concrete actions.

“By preparing for and organizing the Winter Games, we have successfully engaged 300 million Chinese in sport on snow and ice. We have also promoted regional development, ecological conservation, green and innovative solutions and the betterment of people’s lives in China, and created greater space for the development of winter sport worldwide,” he said.

Xi said the world is turning its eyes to China, and China is ready. “China will do its best to deliver to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid Games, and act on the Olympic motto ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’.”

Thomas Bach, President International Olympic Committee addressing on the occasion of official opening ceremony of 139th IOC Session in Beijing, said that the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games will be the start of a new era for winter sports worldwide with over 300 million Chinese taking up Winter Sports.

He said that Beijing will officially become the first city ever to host both summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games on Friday. He said that Chinese winter sports will surely have many economic benefits as China saw the income from winter sports exceed US$ 61 billion in the last season. In 2019, more than 100 million tourists visited the Olympic mountain regions alone.

Bach said that Beijing is also showcasing solutions for a more sustainable future. Beijing 2022 will also mean a lot for Winter sports beyond China, and change the global Landscape of winter sports forever.  He said that for the athletes, they have the once in a lifetime opportunity to reach not only their traditional supporters, but also a completely new fan base during these Olympic Winter Games.