The Winter Olympic Games kick off in Beijing

The XXIV Winter Olympic Games of 2022 kicked off in Beijing. The ceremony took place at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest", which became the first in the world to host the opening ceremonies of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The director of the ceremony, as in 2008, was Yimou Zhang. One of the main features of the ceremony was that professional actors, singers, or dancers did not take part in it. All participants are students, schoolchildren, and ordinary residents of Beijing and Hebei Province, who are hosting the 2022 Olympics.

The theme of the ceremony is "One world, one family". In Chinese culture, it is believed that a truly wise person sees the whole world as a family. The organizers of the Olympics hope that Beijing 2022 will unite the whole world, who together, as one family, will spend an unforgettable Chinese New Year in Beijing.

The main image of the ceremony was a snowflake. This became a reference to the poems of the Chinese poet Li Bai about snowflakes in the Yanshan Mountains, written almost 1300 years ago, as well as to the Western proverb that there are no two identical snowflakes. The idea is that all snowflakes are different, but together they make a beautiful winter, as do people of different cultures, speaking different languages, who come to the Olympic Games and find a common home.

In his address, IOC President Thomas Bach praised the athletes for their resilience and the inspiration they bring to the world through sport.

“You have arrived here after overcoming so many trials, experiencing great uncertainty. But now your moment has come: the moment you've been waiting for for so long - the moment we've all been waiting for. We are all with you. We all support you. We are all rooting for you”- he said.

Bach stressed that sport plays a decisive unifying role in society and noted the importance of solidarity – a key principle of the Olympic Movement:

"Let it encourage you to go faster, strive higher, become stronger - together"

The most interesting moments of the opening ceremony: 

The countdown started with the number 24, because the traditional Chinese calendar divides the year into 24 sunny seasons, adding to that, the Winter Games in Beijing are the 24th in a row.

The Winter Olympics in the arena was personified by a huge LED screen that imitated a crystal clear ice surface. During the first minutes of the ceremony, the hieroglyphs “过年好” appeared on the screen, which means "Happy Chinese New Year" in the Chinese language.

Also on the floor of the stadium, you could see a large Chinese character "Happiness". In China, during the New Year, people decorate their windows and doors with it. Interestingly, the hieroglyph is often placed upside down, because then it is read like "Arrival", which means that happiness will arrive home.

The opening of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing according to the Chinese lunar calendar coincided with the beginning of spring, so during the launch of fireworks, you could see Chinese characters denoting the holiday of the spring arrival and the word "Spring".

After the performance of the Chinese anthem, a river and an ice block "appeared" in the arena, on which the cities that hosted all the previous Winter Games were listed. Six hockey players interacted with a virtual puck that collided with ice. In the end, it disintegrated, revealing crystals in the shape of Olympic rings. It symbolized the destruction of barriers, the resolution of contradictions, and the understanding of each other.

91 teams took part in the parade of athletes. The flag bearer of the national Uzbekistan team was the alpine skier Komiljon Tukhtaev. He solemnly carried the National Flag of Uzbekistan.

The volunteers of the ceremony, who carried signs with the names of countries, were dressed in costumes decorated with ice and snow patterns in the style of Chinese painting, and their hats were decorated with traditional tiger head motifs from the folk culture of Hebei Province. Each hat had a unique design in the form of a tiger's head also because it is the year of the tiger.

During the ceremony, a large snowflake was formed from small snowflakes, which consisted of posters with the names of the national committees participating in the Olympics. The snowflake was framed by olive branches, symbolizing all people living in peace and harmony.

The tree-shaped fireworks display at the opening ceremony had a special meaning. In the mountains of China, a pine tree grows at least 1300 years old. It has a beautiful and unique shape with branches sticking out on one side - like a person stretching out his hand to greet guests from afar. Hence the name - "pine tree for welcoming guests." This tree has long been a symbol of the distinguished guests' reception in China.

To John Lennon's song Imagine, a group of skaters seemed to clear the LED floor of snow, revealing the Olympic motto - "Faster, higher, stronger - together."

After that, hundreds of children appeared on the stage with glowing pigeons in their hands. During their performance, a unique real-time motion capture technology was used.

The opening ceremony ended with the traditional lighting of the Olympic flame. Seven torchbearers took part in the final stage of the Olympic torch relay, and the fire itself was lit by two Chinese athletes – skier Dinigeer Ilamujiang and biathlete Zhao Jiawen.