After fraught run-up, Beijing stages spectacular Olympics opening

[BEIJING] The opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics kicked off on Friday (Feb 4) 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 going 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.

Friday's ceremony began shortly after President Xi Jinping and International Olympic Committee chairman Thomas Bach entered the iconic Bird's Nest stadium.

The official start of the Games will come as a relief to organisers navigating the extreme complexity of staging them during a pandemic while adhering to China's zero-Covid policy.

Organisers also hope it quietens a steady drumbeat of criticism from activists and governments over China's human rights record in its far western Xinjiang region and elsewhere - criticism that China rejects. REUTERS