China Brushes Off Boycotting Critics in Muted Olympics Start
- Opening ceremony much smaller than 2008 event in Beijing
- Uyghur torchbearer speaks to political tensions clouding Games
Fireworks over the Bird's Nest during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on Feb. 4.
Photographer: Lu Ye/AFP/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
In a modest ceremony to kick off the Beijing Winter Olympics, China subtly pushed back at governments boycotting the Games by featuring a Uyghur torchbearer and asserting sovereignty over Taiwan.
Directed by acclaimed movie director Zhang Yimou, who also helmed the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, this year’s roughly two-hour event used ordinary citizens to highlight aspects of Chinese culture, including the country’s lunar calendar. It was a stark contrast to the 2008 show, which was widely seen as one of the most lavish displays in modern Olympic history.