Olympic Games in Beijing are opened

Beijing (FIL) The XXIV Olympic Winter Games have opened. At 9:52 p.m. (local time), China's President Xi Jinping spoke the short but decisive sentence to the applause of the approximately 30,000 spectators: "I declare the Games of the 24th Olympic period Beijing 2022 open." Turning to the athletes, Thomas Bach, President of the International Committee (IOC), said: "Now your moment has come.

The venue for the ceremony was, as at the 2008 Summer Games, the National Stadium in Beijing, also known as the "Bird's Nest". As then, the elaborately planned ceremony was a massive and colourful spectacle. The opening of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games was no different. Thematically, the Chinese spring was in the foreground. "With music, song, dance and fireworks, the ceremonies invited people to discover the culture of the country where the Games are taking place," the organisers had promised.

The colourful show was preceded by the marching-in of the flag bearers and athletes of all 91 participating countries.
 
From the luge camp, six athletes led their teams into the arena: Mirza Nikolajev (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Elsa Desmond (Ireland), Eliza Tiruma (Latvia), Doina Descalui (Republic of Modova), Raluca Stramaturaru (Romania) and Katarina Simonakova (Slovakia). A total of about 2,900 athletes will compete. In 109 decisions, gold, silver and bronze will be at stake. In luge, medals will be awarded in the women's and men's singles, doubles and team relay.