Beijing Olympic opening ceremony begins under the cloud of Kovid, fears of rights

Lattice shaped “bird’s nest” stadium As was the case at the 2008 Games – as witnessed by China’s coming-of-age party on the world stage – Beijing became the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

The opening ceremony was attended by President Xi Jinping, under whose rule China has taken a more beefy international stance than it did 14 years ago.

Xi, who will declare the Games officially open, will join more than 20 world leaders including Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the two presidents who met earlier in the day.

Both China and Russia have seen relations with Washington And with tensions rising in Europe over the creation of Russia’s military on Ukraine’s border, Putin lauded the “truly unprecedented nature” of relations with his hosts.

The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia are among countries to have a diplomatic boycott of the Games on record of China’s rights, particularly the fate of the Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang.

His athletes will still compete in the Games, which run until February 20 and are taking place inside a giant “closed loop” designed to thwart the virus.

Some spectators will be present at the opening ceremony of the 90,000-capacity “Bird’s Nest”, but it is not clear how many more because of the pandemic. Tickets were not sold to the general public like sporting events.

The show is the mastermind of acclaimed Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, who was behind the 2008 paranormal drama.

Zhang has promised an “utterly innovative” ceremony, but acknowledged that the pandemic and cold weather would limit its scale compared to the Summer Games, when 15,000 performers performed with operas featuring opera singers, acrobats and drummers. took part in a grand festival.

This time around 3,000 artists will participate and the theme will include “Environmental Protection and Low Carbon Emissions”.

– ‘terrible’ –

But China’s claim that these will be “green games” has been challenged by some experts because they are taking place in one of the country’s driest places and almost entirely on man-made ice.

There are other concerns as well, including warnings from some Western countries about monitoring their athletes and what will happen? Happen If they make anti-China remarks or make other displays of protest against local officials.

British freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy said he would not be silenced and called China “not well suited” to be host.

“In my opinion, I don’t think any country should be allowed to host the Games if they have a poor human rights stand,” he told the BBC.

On Thursday, some 500 Tibetans marched outside the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Smaller demonstrations took place in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Covid also looms large. About 3,000 athletes and thousands of support staff, volunteers and the media have been cut off from Beijing’s general population.

China, where the virus emerged in late 2019, has adopted a no-nonsense zero-Covid policy nationwide and a similar approach to sports, with everyone inside the bubble getting tested daily and wearing a mask at all times is necessary.

There have been over 300 Covid cases in the bubble, an unknown number of them being athletes.

– ‘In our hearts’ –

In contrast to the huge celebrations congratulating the 2008 Opening Ceremony and the gaiety of national pride, this time the enthusiasm for the Games among the locals has been more muted.

Kovid restrictions mean that most people will watch the show from home.

Individuals lucky enough to live there were asked to wear a mask at all times and sit in multiple seats.

On the streets of the capital, 31-year-old Yin Rui said he looked forward to settling down in front of his television.

“Even if they are at home people will cheer for the Olympics,” she told AFP, adding that “the excitement remains in everyone’s hearts” for the Games – even if they will be behind high fences and Will be mostly closed with the public.

Away from the ceremony, figure skating began with a staunch supporter of American Nathan Chen warning Japanese reigning champion Yuzuru Hanyu by scoring a personal best in the men’s singles short program of the team competition.

Both are eagerly waiting for the men’s singles event to begin on Tuesday.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.