2022 Beijing Winter Olympics kicks off with a 'simple' show and a message of 'One World, One Family'

There is a school of thought that says you should never look back.

Some would say that doing so risks tarnishing one's fond memories of a place or time.

Beijing though, bucked the trend with a performance that preached a simplicity that only revealed itself at the last.

Directed by Zhang Yimou — the same man who orchestrated the spectacular welcome that introduced the world to a rising China in 2008 — this ceremony was said to be a comparatively stripped-down affair.

That was reflected in the limited the number of people in the stands of the famous Bird's Nest stadium, around 20,000 due to COVID restrictions.

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That meant shortening the festivities to under two hours, using just 3,000 performers as opposed to the 15,000 on hand 14 years ago.

The majority of those were, as organisers said, «ordinary people» as opposed to actors.

So, what did that leave us with?

Simplicity. Apparently.

I say apparently because, as you'd expect, despite claims of a more modest event, the spectacular choreography was still in evidence, but with an added emphasis on a stunning display of visual effects on the stadium floor.

The giant ice cube rising from the floor of the arena to reveal the Olympic rings, which were then raised to allow the procession of athletes into the arena, created a grandiose entrance.

Most impressive though was the generation of snowflakes beneath the feet of 600 child performers, a world first linking of Artificial Intelligence and motion sensor technology.

Certainly there was a different tone taken throughout this performance to that from 2008.

There was less emphasis on the