Winter Olympics opening ceremony: What time it starts, how to watch Beijing opening ceremony and what to expect

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic games are now underway in the Chinese capital, with ice sport athletes already starting to compete as the international sports championship begins on Friday February 4.

As with every summer or winter Olympic Games, the world’s biggest sports contest is formally kicked off with an opening ceremony – with countries and teams from around the world gathering to take part in a flag-bearing procession following the lighting of the Olympic flame.

However, with a diplomatic boycott of the Chinese Winter Olympic Games and continuing concerns over the spread of coronavirus, this Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony may look quite different to the large spectacles held in the past.

So here’s what you need to know about the opening ceremony of the 24th Winter Olympic Games, including who Team GB’s flagbearers will be, how to watch the opening ceremony live in the UK and what the event is all about.

The opening ceremony is the celebration used to mark the beginning of another summer or winter Olympic Games.

It will see

This Winter Olympics, Eve Muirhead and Dave Ryding will share the flag-bearing duties for Team GB at the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, with former world curling champion and Scottish curler Muirhead set to fly the Union Jack for the 50 UK athletes and reserves competing at this year’s Winter Olympics.

Beijing’s Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony will start at 8pm local time, which translates to 12pm in the UK, 1pm in Central European Time (CET) zones, 7am US Eastern Time (ET) and 4am Pacific Time (PT).

The opening ceremony is set to run for roughly an hour and 40 minutes but could well go on for longer, as Covid restrictions around the event could lead to slower and