China sends messages during Olympic opening ceremony

In an expectation of topping the 2008 opening ceremony, China put on a beautiful performance filled with snowflakes and Chinese heritage at the Bird’s Nest National Stadium Friday night. China delivered a message of national unity and a message to the west who were absent diplomatically. 

The 24^th Winter Olympics got underway, returning to the Bird’s Nest for the first time in 14 years. China stood out in a completely different way as a superpower since the summer games and remained overshadowed since the coronavirus pandemic and their standing human rights record. 

For the second time, Chinese film director Zhang Yimou took the reins of the opening ceremony that was expected to lead heavy with technology and Chinese propaganda. These were the first games since 1980 where many countries chose to boycott the Olympics from a diplomatic position. 

To honor the Chinese Lunar New Year, the traditional countdown began with 24 divisions of the seasons which ended with the start of spring. 400 performers took the stage carrying long green LED sticks symbolizing a willow tree. Following their performance was the introduction of Chinese president Xi and IOC President Thomas Bach. 12 people carried in the Chinese flag, which went through the hands of most of China’s different ethnic groups. The Chinese national anthem was played followed by a display honoring the Yellow River which is called the mother river and the cradle of Chinese civilization. 

A computer-generated ice block rose from the floor that displayed the Olympics of the past. The block melted to display the Olympic Rings that rose above the floor. To begin the parade of nations into the stadium was Greece, who always had the respect of going first, followed by the tradition of going by the Chinese alphabet. The lowest number of strokes in the first character determines the order of nations in the parade.

China entered in last with flag bearers Gao Tingyu and Zhao Dan, with 173 athletes in tow. The creative artistic segment continued with the snowflakes of every country falling down the screen and gathering on the floor. They then created a circle of unity and turned it into one giant digital snowflake that danced around the screen. A video then preceded with ordinary people going to work, watching the games, and mimicking the movements of athletes that were shown in previous games with the mission statement of being stronger together. 

Bach made his speech of unity and competitive sport in the face of the pandemic. He then finished by inviting President Xi to open the games of Beijing. A group of people walked the length of the floor while pictures of people doing ordinary things during the pandemic were shown. Per tradition, John Lennon’s “Imagine” was played while roller skaters moved around the floor with the graphics following them. 

The Olympic flag was then carried in by six Chinese winter Olympic athletes, and then handed to the Chinese color guard. While it rose, the Olympic Hymn was sung in Greek by a group of Chinese children. A video then showed China’s introduction of winter sports to children and its growing popularity to hundreds of millions. The snowflakes returned with children leading the way in song while others carried doves on a stick around to symbolize peace and love. 

Six athletes ran with the Olympic flame with two lighting the most unique cauldron in Olympic history. One of them was Dingeer Ylamujiang, who is a member of the Uyghurs minority group that is the subject of persecution.  They set the torch into place where all the snowflakes combined. It rose high for all to see in the stadium that brought a conclusion to the two-and-a-half-hour performance.