The opening ceremony of Beijing 2022 was held in the Beijing National Stadium, and it was created by Zhang Yimou as Artistic Director and Wang Nin and Chang Yu as Executive Directors, as well as the creative team of Cai Guoqiang, Liu Yimin, Li Danyang, Sha Xiaolan, Pang Liwei, He Biao, Chen Yan, Chen Minzheng, Zhao Lin, Wang Zhi'ou, Huang Baorong, Yu Lei, and Scott Givens. The opening ceremony took place on 4 February 2022, with the National Stadium becoming the first Olympic stadium to host opening ceremonies of both the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games, after the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008, which was also directed by Zhang Yimou.
The main thread of the opening ceremony was "The Story of a Snowflake" which the core image of a snowflake at the center of all segments. The image and the theme "One World, One Family" created a visual concept and a story concept which often came together in visual elements, such as athletes from all different countries coming together to create a global home in the Olympic Games, despite all of the cultures and languages that divide them.
Pre-Show[]
Before the start of the broadcast, the pre-show started with a Chinese square dance in the stadium, following the idea of a "flash mob", while also displaying the Chinese character for "Happiness". The footage was not only from the stadium though, as the screens inside of the stadium also displayed the celebration and anticipation in ten other major cities in China, encouraging over 300 million people to compete and participate in winter sports.
Entry of the President[]
As the opening ceremony was held only a few days after Chinese New Year, this message was also included at several points throughout the ceremony. During the entry of the president of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and the president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach into the stadium, this was reflected by the message "Happy Chinese New Year" being displayed in the stadium.
Countdown[]
The countdown to the opening ceremony existed out of three separate parts: a video montage, a live performance, and a firework show. The video montage focused on the 24 solar terms of the year, where each month of the Chinese lunar calendar is split in two, based on changing patterns of animal behaviour, plant life, weather conditions, and natural environment, to guide agricultural production and daily life. Aside from the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing being the 24th edition of the event, the opening ceremony was held on the first day of the first solar term "Beginning of Spring", leading up a new year of the Chinese lunar calendar. At the end of the countdown, a live performance showed the movement and budding of dandelions and flowers, reflecting the beginning of the spring season, after which a short firework show defined the end of the countdown.
Chinese National Flag and Anthem[]
As the broadcast opened with the countdown, the president of the People's Republic of China and the International Olympic Committee were introduced once again, though now for the public who had to follow the event through television. The Chinese flag was also carried into the stadium, but instead of a select small group carrying the flag through the entire stadium, this was done by passing on the flag hand-to-hand across two rows of 56 people representing all the ethnic groups in China, while a child trumpeter played one of the many household songs in China. As per tradition, the national anthem of the host nation was played.
Olympic Rings in Ice[]
The following segment reflected another Chinese ancient poem, namely that the Yellow River Poured from the Heavens. This was defined in the opening ceremony by a drop of blue writer's ink being created into the Yellow River. With the winter seasons, the river freezes and turns into an ice world. From the ice floor, a big ice block is created on which the previous editions of the Winter Olympic Games are displayed with the help of laser beams, ending on the image of Beijing 2022. With the help of six ice hockey players and a hockey puck, the ice block is shaped and sculpted, after which it eventually melts to form the Olympic rings.
Parade of Athletes[]
The longest segment of the opening ceremony was the parade of the participating athletes into the stadium. These were conducted in order according to the complexity of the Chinese characters of the nation, with the only exceptions being Greece (which entered first), Italy (as hosts of the next edition of the Winter Olympic Games), and China (which entered last). Each team was led by a girl snowflake placard bearer with a tiger-head hat to indicate the start of the Year of the Tiger, and every nation had the opportunity to choose a male and a female flag bearer to carry the flag together to reflect gender equality.
Forming a Snowflake[]
The following segment used the snowflake placards that were used to lead out the nations and teams in the parade of athletes. All the placards were combined into a larger snowflake, framed by the olive branch, symbolizing peace and harmony while also honoring the old customs of the early editions of the Olympic Games.
Stronger, Together[]
As the event was hosted in the aftermath and during the lockdowns as a result of the CoViD-19 pandemic, the International Olympic Committee adapted their motto to convey that sport and performance was not an individual matter. Especially in the aftermath of loneliness and isolation, a video showed that every victory is an achievement made together, and every fall is a responsibility of all of us.
Speeches[]
The next formal segment of the opening ceremony shows the president of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee Cai Qi and the president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach perform speeches to look forward to the eventful weeks, as well as reflecting back to Beijing 2008, the previous time the Olympic Games were held in China, and Tokyo 2020, the previous edition of the Olympic Games that were held in the aftermath of the pandemic. This segment ends with the official opening of the Olympic Games by the president of the People's Republic of China His Excellency Xi Jinping, closing off with a firework show.
Tribute to the People[]
With the concept of togetherness after the effects of the global pandemic, it was made clear that people from all walks of life shared the same global problems despite differences in language, culture, and races. In the segment which served as tribute to the international people, 76 young people from all over the world walked shoulder to shoulder across the stadium, followed by a river of images with challenges, collaboration, and daily lives across the world. With the river of images, the motto of Beijing 2022 was also revealed: "Together for a Shared Future". As the world comes together through sport, a few groups of ice skaters clear the field to reveal another motto: "Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together" as modified by the International Olympic Committee to reflect the challenges of the global pandemic.
Olympic Flag and Anthem[]
With the introduction of the new Olympic motto, the Olympic flag was being carried into the stadium by six Chinese athletes who have competed in winter sports at a high level before:
- Luo Zhihuan (speed skating)
- Zhang Hui (short track)
- Li Jiajun (short track)
- Shen Xue (figure skating)
- Han Xiaopeng (freestyle skiing)
- Zhang Hong (speed skating)
With the hoisting of the Olympic flag, the Olympic anthem was performed by the Malanhua'er Children's Choir, once again with tiger head costumes to represent the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese calendar.
Olympic Oaths[]
As per tradition, an athlete, a judge, and a coach from the host nation take the Olympic oath to promise a fair edition of the Olympic Games, in accordance with the Olympic ideals. To promote gender equality, the athlete's oath would be taken by a male athlete and a female athlete in Beijing. To take the oath for Beijing 2022, athletes Wang Qiang (Cross-Country Skiing) and Liu Jiayu (Snowboarding) were selected, together with judge Tao Yongchun (Freestyle Skiing) and coach Ji Xiao'ou (Snowboarding).
Champions of Tomorrow[]
As part of the legacy program for Beijing 2022, a video was projected in which Chinese children attempted winter sports for the first time, as part of a campaign to get over 300 million people to compete in winter sports.
Snowflake[]
Returning to the snow and the traditional elements of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, hundreds of children were running and dancing through the stadium, holding illuminated dove props as a nod to the traditional dove release. Their steps were lit up by shining stars and snowflakes, created by live-motion capture technology, with the children forming a heart shape in the middle of the stadium. The big snowflake that was created by the nations' placards appeared in the middle of them while the children performed the theme song of the opening ceremony "Snowflake".
Olympic Flame[]
- See also: Beijing 2022/Torch
On 18 October 2021, due to coronavirus pandemic sanitary measures,a small number of torchbearers carried the flame in Ancient Olympia following its lighting. After the ceremonial relay legs,went directly to Athens and the next day she was handed over to the Chinese authorities who received her in the traditional ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium.
On 20 October, the flame was welcomed to China at a ceremony held at the Beijing Olympic Tower, where it then went on show to the public. Thereafter, the programme also included a presentation of the flame to the Chinese culture. Lastly, the traditional relay involving around 1,200 torchbearers was held during the three days before the Opening Ceremony in the venues clusters of Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.
On 2 February 2022, the relay passed through two parts of Beijing, the first one was the Olympic Green,the main venue cluster for the 2008 Summer Olympics and also used again and then Shougang Park, the site of a former steelworks renovated to host the Organizing Committee headquarters and plannes to become a culture, sport and tourism hub, which hosted the big air events during the Games. In Olympic Green, the first torchbearer was Zhihuan Luo, a 80-year-old former world champion in speed skating. At Shougang Park, an exchange of the flame underwater was performed by two robots, each with a torch. On 3 February, the flame visited various locations in and around Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, such as the Great Wall Passes in Badaling and also Dajingmen. On 4 February, the relay was back in Beijing at three locations, the Forbidden City Complex, Olympic Green and the Dayunhe Park.That evening, at the Opening Ceremony, the flame was brought into the Stadium by seven torchbearers carrying the last six torches in the stadium, with every new torchbearer having been born in a new decade, starting from the 1950, followed by the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and finally the 2000s. The torch itself was designed to honor the legacy of Beijing 2008 by featuring a design as a literary scroll, similar to the Olympic cauldron of the previous edition of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games held in Beijing. The torch was carried into the stadium by Olympian and 11-time national champion in speed skating Zhao Weichang, who relayed the torch to Li Yan, who won a gold medal in short track speed skating when it was still a demonstration sport in 1988. The relay continued with Yang Yang (A), who won the very first Chinese Olympic Gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games, Su Bingtian, who held the Asian record in the men's 100 metres in athletics, and Zhou Yang, who won three Olympic gold medals in short track speed skating. The last torch bearers in the relay were the skiiers Yilamujiang Dinigeer and Zhao Jiawen, who were due to make their Olympic debuts later in the event. Once the torch was placed at center of the giant slowflake of nations' placards, a small light display around the snowflake and a firework show ended the opening ceremony of Beijing 2022.