Chinese President Xi Jinping officially declared the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics open at the National Stadium on Friday night.
The Beijing Winter Olympics features 109 events of 15 disciplines across seven sports. It will take place from February 4 to 20 in three competition zones in downtown Beijing, Beijing’s northwest suburban district of Yanqing and Zhangjiakou in neighboring Hebei Province.
The motto of Beijing 2022 is “Together for a Shared Future.”
Dozens of world leaders and heads of international organizations attended the opening ceremony of the Games, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Beijing, where the Summer Games was held in 2008, is the first city in the world to host both editions of the Olympic Games.
“China will do its best to deliver to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid Games, and act on the Olympic motto ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together,'” Xi said on Thursday when delivering a video address at the opening ceremony of the 139th IOC session.
From “One World, One Dream” in 2008 to “Together for a Shared Future” in 2022, China has taken an active part in the Olympic Movement and consistently championed the Olympic spirit, he said, noting that China has achieved its goal of engaging 300 million people in winter sports.
According to official statistics, over 346 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports training, amateur or professional competitions, or winter sports leisure activities, surpassing the goal of 300 million the government set in 2015 when Beijing won the Olympic bid.
Xi hosts welcoming banquet for world leaders
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan on Saturday hosted a welcoming banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for distinguished guests from around the world present at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
More than 30 world leaders and heads of international organizations gathered in the Chinese capital for the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday night at the National Stadium – an iconic venue from the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Having successfully hosted the Summer Olympics 14 years ago, Beijing is the first-ever city to stage both summer and winter editions of the global sporting gala.
In his address at the banquet, Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, extended a warm welcome to all the guests, and thanked all those who have supported Beijing 2022.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan host a welcoming banquet for distinguished guests from around the world at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, February 5, 2022.
He said China has delivered on the promise it made to the international community by presenting a green, inclusive, open and clean Games.
Xi added, China has made renewed contributions to the Olympic cause by realizing the goal of engaging 300 million people in winter sports through hosting and promoting the Games.
Noting that the Olympic Movement since ancient times has carried humanity’s aspirations for peace, solidarity and progress, Xi urged all parties to keep in mind the original aspiration of the Olympic Movement and jointly uphold world peace.
“We need to uphold mutual respect, equality, dialogue and consultation, strive to bridge differences and eliminate conflict, and work together for a world of durable peace,” he stressed.
Xi called for promoting the spirit of the Olympic Movement and addressing the common challenges facing the international community through solidarity.
The only way for all countries to address the various challenges effectively is to strengthen solidarity and cooperation and work together for a shared future, he added.
Xi also voiced the necessity of acting on the purpose of the Olympic Movement and continuously pursuing human progress.
“The Olympic Movement aims to achieve well-rounded human development. We need to follow the trend of the times, stay true to humanity’s common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, promote exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations, and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.”
China has just entered the Year of the Tiger according to the lunar calendar, Xi mentioned.
As Tiger is a symbol of strength, courage and fearlessness, Xi wished all Olympic athletes to have excellent performances with the strength of the tiger.
“I am confident that with the joint efforts of us all, Beijing 2022 will surely go down in history as a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic Games,” said the Chinese president.
