Olympics-With rings breaking from block of ice, Games ceremony begins

BEIJING: The opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics kicked off on Friday night. The culmination of preparations beset by the COVID-19 pandemic and criticism over human rights in China that led several countries to mount a diplomatic boycott.

Held on the first day of Spring by the Chinese calendar, it began with a performance by dancers waving glowing green stalks to convey the vitality of the season, followed by an explosion of white and green fireworks that spelled the word “Spring.” On a three-dimensional cube resembling a block of ice, lasers carved imagery from each of the previous 23 Winter Games. The block was then “broken” by ice hockey players, enabling the Olympic rings to emerge, all in white.

That was followed by the traditional “parade of nations,” with each of the 91 delegations preceded by a woman carrying a placard in the shape of a snowflake resembling a Chinese knot. In keeping with Olympic tradition, the parade was led into the stadium by Greece with the rest ordered by stroke number in the first character of their Chinese name, which meant Turkey was second, followed by Malta, with host China set to go last.

The entrances for “Hong Kong, China,” as well as for Russia, generated applause in the partially filled stadium. Russian President Vladimir Putin, the highest profile foreign leader present for the Games, could be seen in the stadium without a mask.

However, the athletes from his country were unable to carry its flag due to doping violations, marching instead under the standard of the Russian Olympic Committee. RETURN TO BIRD’S NEST Friday’s ceremony began shortly after President Xi Jinping and International Olympic Committee Chairman Thomas Bach entered the iconic Bird’s Nest