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BEIJING: Prime Minister Imran Khan joined the world leaders at Beijing’s National Stadium as the spectacular Winter Olympics 2022 kicked off on Friday.
The lattice-shaped “Bird’s Nest” stadium took centre stage, just as it did at the 2008 Games — seen as China’s coming-out party on the world stage — as Beijing becomes the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics.
With temperatures appropriately below freezing in the Chinese capital, the ceremony began with an opening sequence focused on youth and spring. The Olympics start on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, China’s biggest holiday, which is also known as Spring Festival.
Though Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan were among those watching from the stands, the crowd was limited due to Covid restrictions.
Instead, the focus was on a spectacular technology-driven visual show that featured fireworks and a light show before culminating with a block of ice that was “broken” by ice hockey players, giving way to five snow-white Olympic rings.
The Parade of Nations then took place, with athletes wearing masks alongside their winter coats. The order of appearance was determined by stroke number in the first character of each country’s name in Chinese, with Turkey going second after Greece.
Because China is the host country, its 176 athletes went last, entering the stadium to loud cheers and waves from Xi. Though the ceremony began and ended with fireworks, there were only about 10 percent as many as the last time Beijing hosted the Olympics in 2008, according to Reuters.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, who also arrived in Beijing Thursday, attended the colorful event along with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain and Planning Minister Asad Umar.
The athletes paraded at the opening ceremony including Muhammad Karim who would represent Pakistan in Alpine Skiing. The Prime Minister and his delegation arose from their seats to join the spectators for welcoming Pakistan’s squad passing through the venue waving the national flag.
سرمائی اولمپکس میں شریک پاکستانی دستے کی آمد پر وزیراعظم عمران خان نے نشست سے کھڑے ہو کر ٹیم کیلئے تالیاں بجائیں اور حوصلہ افزائی کی۔
#Beijing2022WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/Kd57Elolxh
— PTI (@PTIofficial) February 4, 2022
The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia are among countries staging a diplomatic boycott of the Games over China’s rights record, particularly the fate of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
Their athletes will still compete at the Games, which run until February 20 and are taking place inside a vast “closed loop” designed to thwart the virus.