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Everything to Know About the Beijing Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony took place on Feb. 4 in a world that has changed dramatically since the last time the Chinese capital held the Olympic Games.
The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics marked China’s “coming out” as a global superpower. One third of the world tuned in to the 100millionevent.Some15,000performersparticipatedinaproductionthatshowcasedthebestofChinesehistoryandculture.Anestimated91,000people,includingU.S.PresidentGeorgeW.Bushandotherworldleaders,attendedtheevent,whichStevenSpielberghadcalledthe“grandestspectacleofthenewmillennium.”</span></p><p>Here’swhatyouneedtoknowaboutthe2022WinterOlympicsOpeningCeremony.</p><p><strong>Whenisthe2022BeijingOlympicsOpeningCeremony?</strong></p><p>Theopeningceremonyforthe2022WinterGamesisonFeb.4.TheBeijingOlympics’formalopeningbeganat7:30p.m.ChinaStandardTime—or6:30a.m.ETand3:30a.m.PT.</p><p><strong>WhathappenedattheBeijingOlympicsOpeningCeremony?</strong></p><p>Beijing’sorganizingcommitteeassureda“simple,safeandsplendid”stagingoftheWinterGamesduringtheCOVID−19pandemic,andtheopeningceremonywillreflectthattheme.</p><p>InternationallyacclaimedfilmmakerZhangYimou,whodirectedthespectacularlaunchofthe2008SummerOlympics,returnedforthe2022BeijingWinterOlympicsopeningceremony.Hepromiseda“differentandunique”openingthistimearoundinaninterviewwithstate−runnewsoutletXinhua:“China’sstatusintheworld,theimageoftheChineseandtheriseofournationalstatus—everythingistotallydifferentnow.”</p><p>Witharuntimeof1hourand40minutesandsome3,000performersjoining,theceremonywasscaleddownfrom2008’sextravaganzaduetocoldweatherandthepandemic.ItwasstillheldattheNationalStadium,dubbedthe“Bird’sNest,”andZhangpromisedan“innovative”cauldron−lightingthatwillechoChina’sthrusttowardsenvironmentalprotection.</p><p><strong>WhoisattendingtheWinterOlympicsthisyear?</strong></p><p>Some2,900athletesfromover90countriesareattendingtheWinterGamesinChina,closetofiguresofparticipatingathletesinSochi,Russiain2014andPyeongchang,SouthKoreain2018.</p><p><strong>HowwillChinaminimizeCOVID−19infectionsduringtheWinterOlympics?</strong></p><p>TheZeroCOVIDpolicyisthecornerstoneoftheBeijingOlympicsanti−epidemicplaybookpublishedlastDecember.Chinawillmanageathletesandotherinboundparticipantsundera“closed−loop”system.Athletes,coachesandthemediawillonlybeallowedtovisitdesignatedOlympicsvenuesusingspecialtransportationthatisseparatefromBeijing’s21.5millionpeople.ThethreezonesofBeijing,Yanqing,andZhangjiakouwillhavetheirownclosedloopsystems—barringthoseinsidefromhavinganycontactwiththewiderChinesepopulation.Totransferfromoneclosedloopsystemtoanother,theymusttakedesignatedtrains,ortravelonassignedbuseswhichwillplyspecificroutes.</p><p>Adaptedfrom:https://time.com/6141429/beijing−winter−olympics−opening−ceremony−2022/</p><p>Readthefollowingsentencetakenfromthetext.</p><p>"The2008$ Beijing Summer Olympics marked China’s "coming out" as a global superpower."
What can we infer?