It’s February 4th, the date that Beijing has been counting down for. At 20:00 o’clock China time, the much-anticipated Opening Ceremony will take place at the National Stadium in the Chinese capital.
The anticipation is noticeable in Chinese media and on Chinese social media, where Beijing 2022 mascots ‘Bing Dwen Dwen’ and ‘Shuey Rhon Rhon’ pop up everywhere. Various top hashtags on Weibo are related to the opening ceremony. So what can we expect today? Here’s what we know.
The Opening Ceremony is taking place at the National Stadium, better known as the ‘Bird’s Nest’ (鸟巢). The much-acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (张艺谋, 1951) is in charge as the very first director to helm the ceremonies for both a winter and a summer Olympics.
Zhang, known for famous movies such as Red Sorghum and Raise the Red Lantern, has been preparing for the opening and closing ceremony since 2019. Although the program for tonight has not been disclosed, we do know that it will certainly be very colorful, as all of Zhang’s works use vibrant colors to support the narrative and bring another layer of meaning to it.
The ceremony will be different from 2008 one in multiple ways. Zhang himself recently stated in an interview that the Beijing Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony marked the rise of China’s national status on the international stage. The impressive spectacle showcased Chinese ancient culture, tradition, and history.
Zhang Yimou in an interview with CCTV (screenshot by Whatsonweibo).
This time, there is a clear focus on the “we”; the official slogan for the Olympics is also “Together for a Shared Future.” It is highly likely that the ceremony will have a narrative throughout its performances emphasizing Chinese cultural confidence and its leadership role in the global community.
Another theme of tonight’s show will be spring and new beginnings as China is celebrating the Spring Festival.
A third theme will be Chinese digitalization and innovation. Over recent years, big events organized in China, such as the Spring Festival Gala, have consistently used the opportunity to showcase the country’s latest digital innovations. Tonight’s show will also use 5G-enabled AR and VR, cloud, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
Xi Jinping will attend the ceremony together with President Putin of Russia, Cambodia’s King Norosom Sihamoni, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and many others.
Another way in which the opening ceremony is different from the one in 2008, is that it will be shorter (around 100 minutes instead of four hours) and that it will not involve as many performers. The 2008 ceremony cast consisted of some 15,000 performers, which now will be around 3000 performers. The shorter time and the smaller cast relate to covid19 prevention measures, but also have to do with the cold weather.
Noteworthy is the average age of the cast. Although there will be people performing from all age groups, the youngest performer being 5 years old and the oldest performers being in their seventies, approximately 95% of the performers are adolescents.
There is said to be a very special way of lighting the torch at the Beijing ceremony. The Olympic Torch, which was carried by martial artist Jackie Chan on February 3rd at the Great Wall of China, will end its journey at the Beijing National Stadium after moving through later moving through Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou.
Various channels across the world, including BBC and NBC, are broadcasting the ceremony. Watch the ceremony live here on CCTV.
If anyone is wondering about the order in which the countries are appearing at the ceremony #Beijing2022WinterOlympics , it's based on the stroke order of the first character of the country.
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) February 4, 2022
By Manya Koetse
PS If you need a VPN at this time, Express VPN is currently doing a Winter Olympics special, offering 3 extra months free with the purchase of a 12-month plan. Check here.
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