February 4, 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics news and results

Here are answers to some of the burning questions you might have about the 24th Winter Games.

How many athletes compete in the Winter Olympics?

There are 91 delegations competing for 109 gold medals across seven sports in Beijing.

According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC),?there will be about 2,900 athletes doing their best in their selected disciplines.

What is skeleton?

One of the most interesting names in the sporting lexicon,?skeleton?is a fan favorite at the Winter Olympics.

With its roots in sleighing, athletes participate on the same track across two days, getting four runs each. The competitor with the fastest combined time wins the event.

It fell in and out of the Olympic program for a number of years, before it was reintroduced at the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics.

Read more here on frequently asked questions.

Chinese torchbearers Dinigeer Yilamujian (L) and Zhao Jiawen wave with the Olympic flame in the middle of a giant snowflake during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

To light the Olympic cauldron, China chose two athletes: skiers Dinigeer Yilamujiang and Zhao Jiawen.

Like the rest of the highly choreographed ceremony, the choice of Dinigeer and Zhao appears symbolic and deliberate. Dinigeer is a Uyghur, an ethnic minority in China’s far west region of Xinjiang — where China has been accused of massive human rights violations. The United States and United Kingdom have gone so far as to accuse the Chinese government of genocide against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

The US State Department estimates that up to two million people have been detained in?internment camps in Xinjiang?since 2017. China says the camps are vocational training centers, aimed at combating terrorism and separatism, and has repeatedly denied accusations of human rights abuses in the region.

Many Western countries refused to send official delegations to Beijing for the Games due to the allegations of widespread rights violations in Xinjiang.

The decision to pair Dinigeer and Zhao — who is of Han decent, the dominant ethnicity in China — could be a propaganda display, as the ceremony was big on displays of ethnic unity. In addition to the pairing of Zhao and Dinigeer, members of China’s 56 official ethnic groups joined to display the flag of the People’s Republic.

China has, in recent years, deployed an all-out propaganda effort to shift the narrative in Xinjiang that includes sending state media reporters to the region?to supposedly “prove” there is no oppression there and targeting Beijing’s critics overseas.

Drummers perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing, China.

Beijing is the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. It held the Summer Games back in 2008 and won the host bid for the 2022 Winter Games in 2015.

Athens, Paris, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo have all hosted the Summer Games more than once, according to the Olympics website.

Beijing’s?National?Stadium, commonly referred to as the?Bird’s Nest, also is the first venue to host opening and closing ceremonies for both the Summer and Winter Olympics. In 2008, the stadium was used for competitions, but this year, it will be only used for the ceremonies, according to the site.

The torch connects the two Games as well, according to the site:

Chinese dissident artist and activist Ai Weiwei is seen outside the Royal Courts of Justice on October 27 in London, England.

As the Beijing Winter Olympics?gets underway, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is once again criticizing China’s ruling Communist Party — and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which he said is “ignoring” the safety of the country’s athletes by prioritizing business and “standing next to the authoritarians.”

The world-renowned?Chinese dissident?and rights activist has been living in self-exile in Portugal since 2021. Fearing for his safety were he to return to China, where he was once detained for 81 days for “inciting the subversion of state power,” Ai has resided around Europe for almost seven years.

Years prior to his departure from his home country, Ai famously consulted on the design of the venue hosting Friday night’s opening ceremony: The Beijing National Stadium, or “Bird’s Nest.”

The open-roofed structure, wrapped in interwoven steel structs, functioned as one of the main venues for the Summer Olympics in 2008. A collaboration with Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, the stadium took five years to build and was designed to represent a new, modern China.

But the artist distanced himself from the project and criticized China’s hosting of the Olympics ahead of the opening ceremony, believing it to be a propaganda tool at odds with what he felt were the oppressive realities of life in the country.

“Unfortunately, as an architect, you cannot control how the building is being used,” Ai told Amanpour in the interview, which airs Friday. “For me it’s a big disappointment, not only in how it’s being used but also in the directions China (has taken) in past decades.”

A number of countries have boycotted the Beijing Winter Olympics. This means that while their athletes compete in the Games, their government officials will not be present in the country as is common practice.

Here are some countries that are boycotting the Games for different reasons.

United States: A “record number” of 177 US athletes walked at the Opening Ceremony, despite the Biden administration’s boycott of the Games in December as a statement against China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.”

Australia, United Kingdom and Canada: The three countries followed the US and announced a diplomatic boycott.

Japan: While it stopped short of calling the decision a?boycott,?the government also announced in December that it will not be sending Cabinet ministers or senior officials to the Games, saying Japan “believes?that respect for human rights is important. We made a decision comprehensively.”

India: The country announced a diplomatic?boycott?on Thursday after China decided to make a soldier involved in the June 2020 Galwan?clashes?as the torchbearer.?

Public?broadcaster Doordarshan also announced it will not telecast the opening and closing ceremonies live.?India has one athlete, skier Arif Khan, is participating at the Olympics.?

In June 2020, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a bloody brawl with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley, close to Aksai Chin, an area controlled by China but claimed by both countries. It is unclear if or how many Chinese soldiers died. Both sides have accused the other of overstepping the de facto border, the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that runs along the western sector of the valley.?

Taiwan: The self-governing island, which diplomatically boycotted the Games, is a flourishing democracy, but the mainland’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to view the island as an inseparable part of its territory — despite having never controlled it. Today, relations between Taipei and Beijing are?at?their lowest point?in decades.

When the Taiwan team entered the stadium, the Olympic live commentary announced “Chinese Taipei” – Taiwan’s official name in the Olympics. Chinese state media CCTV, however, introduced the team as “China Taipei” – a designation that implies the island is part of China.?

Torch bearers Dinigeer Yilamujiang and Jiawen Zhao of Team China hold the Olympic flame during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China.

Seven torchbearers carried six torches in the final torch relay inside the Bird’s Nest.

All the torchbearers are Chinese winter sport athletes born in sequential decades – the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and the last two torchbearers from the 2000s. The sequential order is meant to show the continuity of winter sports across generations.

Here are the athletes who served as torchbearers:

The last torch was shared by two 2022 Olympians —Yilamujiang Dinigeer, a cross-country skier from Xinjiang, and Zhao Jiawen, a Nordic Combined athlete — to celebrate gender equality. They lit the Olympic cauldron together.

The lighting of the Olympic cauldron marks the official beginning of the Winter Games and the end of Friday’s Opening Ceremony.

Performers carry the Olympic flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China.

As the Opening Ceremony draws to its conclusion, the Olympic flag arrives inside the Bird’s Nest stadium.

Six athletes take their time in walking the flag across the floor to the flagpoles at one end. They walk between the motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together” which is beamed all over the stadium floor.

A group of 40 children sing the Olympic anthem as the flag is raised slowly in front of the crowd.

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Beijing Winter Olympics open after a speech from International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach.

This was followed by a show of fireworks.

Thomas Bach, IOC President makes a speech during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach uses his official speech to thank the Chinese people for welcoming the Winter Olympics so warmly.

Bach’s messages go down well with the crowd who cheer enthusiastically.

The 68-year-old also addressed the Covid-19 pandemic and thanked scientists for going “above and beyond” to make the Games possible.

The IOC has come under fierce criticism in regards to China’s human rights record and Bach told the stadium, and the millions around the world watching, that the Olympics stood for a world with “no discrimination whatsoever” and urged people to “give peace a chance.”

Members of Team China wave flags during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China.

From the host nation, Chinese athletes were the last to parade at the Opening Ceremony in Beijing while President Xi Jinping waved on. The stadium changed its lighting to red as Team China enter.

Beijing is the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Jinping has made a concerted effort to make China a significant player in international sports.

China has built 800 new ski resorts and having 300 million skiers in the country in time for the Winter Games, according to NBC, the official rights holder for the Olympics for the United States.

Nathan Crumpton, of American Samoa, carries his national flag into the stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, February 4 in Beijing.

With everybody’s favorite topless Tongan, Pita Taufatofua, not competing at this year’s Winter Olympics, American Samoa’s Nathan Crumpton ensured we were not deprived of a shirtless flag bearer.

While his sport of skeleton — racing headfirst down an ice track at speeds exceeding 80mph on just a small tray — requires a lot of bravery, coming out to temperatures of -5°C with just a generous layer of oil to keep him warm is perhaps even more daring.

Crumpton is American Samoa’s lone participant at these Games and the talented athlete also competed at the 2020 Olympics in the 100m.

Flag bearers Ping-Jui Ho and Yu Ting Huang of Team Chinese Taipei carry their flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China.

Olympians representing Taiwan at the Beijing Winter Olympics paraded?ahead?of?athletes from China’s Special Administrative Region of?Hong Kong — a position which?could be seen as implying?China’s sovereignty over the island.?

When the Taiwan team entered the stadium, the Olympic live commentary announced “Chinese Taipei” – Taiwan’s official name in the Olympics. Chinese state media CCTV, however, introduced the team as “China Taipei” – a designation that implies the island is part of China.?

Beijing has previously suggested its “one country, two systems” formula for Hong Kong could be adopted in Taiwan “upon reunification.”

Taiwan is diplomatically boycotting the Beijing 2022 Games.?

Some background: Taiwan and mainland China have been separately governed since the Nationalists retreated to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese civil war more than 70 years ago. Taiwan is now a flourishing democracy, but the mainland’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to view the island as an inseparable part of its territory — despite having never controlled it.

Today, relations between Taipei and Beijing are?at?their lowest point?in decades.?Earlier this month, China’s military?sent a record number of warplanes into the air around Taiwan.

Flag bearers Brittany Bowe and John Shuster of Team United States carry their flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China.

US athletes Brittany Bowe and John Shuster were the flag bearers for the US contingent of athletes competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The team paraded at the Opening Ceremony after the Biden administration announced in December that it?will not send an official US delegation to the Games as a statement against China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.”

US athletes are still be allowed to compete in the Olympics, but the administration will not be sending government officials to the games. The same policy applies for the Paralympic Games, which are also taking place in Beijing.

The White House is looking to send a “clear message” that the human rights abuses in China mean there cannot be “business as usual,” Psaki told reporters at a White House briefing.

The move marks an escalation of pressure by the US on China over allegations of forced labor and human rights abuses in China’s western region of Xinjiang, particularly against the Uyghur population and other ethnic and religious minority groups.

The athletes that will make up Team USA have the administration’s “full support,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, but she added the administration would not be “contributing to the fanfare of the games.”

Team USA Chief Rick Adams confirmed a “record number” of 177 US athletes would walk at the Opening Ceremony.

Flag bearer Nathan Crumpton of Team American Samoa carries their flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China

While many nations have bumper teams to support each other during the Winter Olympics, spare a thought for those with just the one representative.

A total of 19 delegations have only one athlete competing at Beijing 2022 and they’ve been making their way out onto the floor at the Bird’s Nest stadium.

Fortunately, those athletes have a crowd of enthusiastic volunteers to make the walk a little less lonely.

Full list of teams with just one representative:

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, stands waving in the stands during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China.?

President Vladimir Putin waved as the Russian athletes paraded at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing.

Putin traveled to China to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, before the ceremony began. The two leaders issued a call for NATO to halt further expansion, according to a joint statement released by the Kremlin. This comes as tensions on the Ukraine-Russia border remain at their highest in years.

But isn’t Russia banned? Russian athletes are competing under the name ROC, which stands for the?Russian Olympic Committee. This is an opportunity for clean Russian athletes to compete in the Olympics while their country remains banned from the Games because of a doping scandal.

They will be competing under the neutral banner for the second consecutive Games after they did so at last year’s?Tokyo Olympics.

Flag bearers Oleksandr Abramenko and Oleksandra Nazarova of Team Ukraine carry their flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China.

The athletes are making their way into Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium via a spectacular entrance, which is described as representing the “Gate of China” and “Window of China.”

The special effects make both appear as though they are made of ice, with the motifs inspired by traditional gates and windows across the country.

“The ‘Gate of China’ symbolizes that China opens its doors to welcome the world to the Olympic Winter Games,” the official Opening Ceremony explainer reads.

“The ‘Window of China,’ through which the magnificent scenery is showcased, expresses the idea of ‘seeing China through an open window.’”

Performers dance under the Olympic Rings during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, at the National Stadium in Beijing, on February 4.

As the athletes continue making their way into the Bird’s Nest stadium, take a look at the best photos from the curtain raiser so far.

From an LED flower display to incredible lights shows, the ceremony has already proved spectacular.

Take a look here.

The delegation from India takes part in the parade of athletes during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, at the National Stadium in Beijing, China, on February 4.

India has one athlete, alpine skier Arif Khan, competing in the Winter Olympics. He paraded at the Opening Ceremony in Beijing just days after India announced a diplomatic boycott of the?Games.

This announcement came after a commander involved in 2020 border clashes between the two countries appeared as an Olympic torchbearer in the customary torch relay leading up to the Games.

The last-minute boycott, which will see India’s top envoy in Beijing sit out Friday’s Opening Ceremony, adds the world’s most populous democracy to a list of Western nations who already have launched their own?diplomatic?no-shows, citing China’s human rights record — setting the tone for a controversial Olympic Games.?

Following the official move, India’s public broadcaster Doordarshan also?announced?it will not telecast the Opening and Closing Ceremonies live.

Flag bearers Arisa Go and Akito Watabe of Team Japan carry their flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 4 in Beijing, China.

Japan?announced in December that it will not be sending Cabinet ministers or senior officials to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics but stopped short of calling the decision a?diplomatic boycott.?

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno made the announcement in a press conference, saying?Japan?“believes?that respect for human rights is important. We made a decision comprehensively.”

Matsuno added that Tokyo Olympic chief Seiko Hashimoto,?Japanese Olympic Committee chief Yasuhiro Yamashita and?Japan?Paralympic Chief Kazuyuki Mori will still be attending the event.

China's Ling Zhi competes during the curling mixed doubles round robin event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between China and Sweden at National Aquatics Centre.

The Opening Ceremony may have just begun in Beijing but competition is already underway elsewhere.

A host of sports including ice hockey, luge and multiple ski events have already started ahead of what is a spectacular curtain raiser.

Curling is another of the sports to have already began its preliminary rounds and the sport has become a fan favorite every time the Games come around.

Read more about one the most popular events at the Winter Olympics here.

Flag bearers Apostolos Angelis and Maria Ntanou of Team Greece carry their flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04 in Beijing, China

Athletes of the participating countries have begun parading into the Olympics Opening Ceremony, starting with Greece.

Remember: They are not coming in Western alphabetical order.

The Chinese writing system has characters composed of strokes. The countries are ordered by the number of strokes that are counted in the first character of the Chinese name, from lowest to highest.

China's President Xi Jinping (L) and his wife Peng Liyuan (R) are seen during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, at the National Stadium in Beijing on February 4.

President Xi Jinping sparked the loudest cheer of the night so far as he waved to the crowd as the Opening Ceremony began.

He also waved to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach before taking his seat.

He stood up once again to sing the national anthem as the Chinese flag was raised within the National Stadium.

Outside the arena, volunteers gather to watch what is so far a spectacular curtain raiser for this year’s Winter Olympics.

President XI waves to the crowd as he makes his way to his seat.

Performers create a flower display with LED lights during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 4 in Beijing, China.

The Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics’ Opening Ceremony at the Beijing National Stadium is underway.

It will last 100 minutes, end with fireworks and will feature?an estimated?3,000 performers. Teenagers account for 95% of the performers at the ceremony, according to state media.?

Director?Zhang Yimou returns 14 years after directing the 2008 Opening Ceremony.?He said?this time around,?the show won’t be as grand or as long — 2008 included 15,000 participants.

General view outside the Beijing National Stadium -- or "Bird's Nest" -- prior to the Opening Ceremony on February 4.

Some 150,000 spectators will be invited to attend the 2022 Winter Games, according to the Vice President of the?Beijing?Organizing Committee, Yang Shu’an.

Yang said Olympic venues will be split evenly between spectators from inside the “closed loop” system, which separates Games-related personnel from the public, and those living outside of it.

Beijing has enforced a strict “closed loop” system to combat the spread of Covid-19 among Olympics-related personnel. Since the system officially began on Jan. 23, a total of 308 Olympic-related Covid-19 cases have now been identified, 111 of which involve athletes or team officials.

The 150,000 spectators from outside the “closed loop” will include international people residing in mainland China, diplomatic personnel, marketing partners, winter sports enthusiasts, residents and local students, he explained.

Spectators inside the “closed loop” will consist of members of the Olympic family, National Olympic Committees delegations, athletes, media representatives and broadcasters, Yang added.?

On January 17, the IOC announced tickets for the Games would not go on sale for international visitors or the general public, citing Covid-19 concerns. Instead, it decided groups of spectators would need to be invited to fill the stands.?

Norway's Jarl Magnus Riiber at the Nordic Combined World Cup event in Seefeld, Austria, Jan. 29.

Reigning men’s Nordic Combined world champion Jarl Magnus Riiber will miss his opening event of the Beijing Olympics after testing positive for Covid-19, Norway’s Olympic Committee spokesperson Gro Eide confirmed to CNN.

Several teammates of Riiber have been identified as close contacts, Eide confirmed without providing names.

“The gold is yours, guys,” the Norwegian champion wrote on his Instagram account with a virus emoji and a winking face.

Riiber is a four-time World Champion and won a silver medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in the men’s team event.

The first men’s Nordic Combined medal event takes place on Wednesday (February 9) with the individual normal hill.

It’s less than half an hour to go before the Opening Ceremony for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics officially kicks off.

Inside Beijing’s National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest, the seats are about half filled, with spectators sitting at least one seat apart.

Two MCs have taken to the stage and have started warming up the audience, instructing them to rehearse countdowns, shout slogans – including the Games’ motto “Together for a shared future” – and wave flashlights on their phones.

With temperatures dropping below freezing in the open-air stadium, many spectators are shivering, holding on to the blankets handed out by organizers.

A ‘pre-show’ involving dancers and a light show has also gotten underway.

The view inside the stadium as spectators are encouraged to wave torches in the air.

In this file photo, Marco Balich, Executive director of the Rio Opening and Closing Ceremonies, speaks with the media ahead of Rio 2016.

Marco Balich knows a thing or two about Olympic ceremonies.

The Italian creative director has been involved in a record 14 Games, including his role as Executive Producer of both Rio 2016 Olympic ceremonies.

Balich spoke to CNN ahead of the Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony to explain the huge operation behind creating one of the world’s biggest spectacles.

“It’s a two-year process,” he explained. “In fact, it could be comparable to a major feature film in Hollywood studios.

“It’s six months to create the idea, six months to create the budgeting, six months to prototype and the last six months of harsh training and rehearsals.”

In charge of today’s Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony is renowned Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who also oversaw the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at Beijing 2008.

Given the complications Covid has provided over the past two years, Balich says Zhang’s creative process will have been considerably more difficult than it was almost 14 years ago.

He believes “computer-driven sessions of creativity” can never adequately replace the in-person interactions that make the creative process so unique.

“Creativity needs live exchanges and there is no question about that,” he explained. “I mean, nuances are made through a rapid exchange which you cannot do between two computers.

“So I think the difficulty that Zhang Yimou and the Tokyo people went through, the process was how you create a harmonic narrative without working elbow-to-elbow around a table.”

The?Winter Olympics?in Beijing get underway on February 4 with close to 3,000 athletes from 91 nations competing across 109 medal events.

The Games will be held under strict Covid-19 countermeasures and feature seven different sports.

There will also be new events in bobsled, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, short track and ski jumping.

A detailed schedule of events is?available on the Olympics website, as is a?list of Games broadcasters?in every country around the world.

In the United States, NBC has the broadcast rights to the Games. Viewers will also be able to follow the action on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

Here is a short list of rights holders in selected other countries:

Australia: Seven Network

Canada: CBC, Radio Canada, Bell Media (TSN and RDS), Rogers Media (Sportsnet), Telelatino Network

India: Olympics.com

Ireland: Eurosport

Mexico: Claro

Nigeria: Supersport

Philippines: Cignal TV

Singapore: Mediacorp

South Korea: SBS, KBS, MBC

United Kingdom: Eurosport, BBC

Read here for more.

The FBI is urging Olympic athletes to leave their personal cell phones at home and instead take burner phones to the?Beijing Winter Olympics, citing the potential for “malicious cyber activities.”

While not aware of “any specific cyber threat against the Olympics” the FBI added it’s important that those at the Games be “vigilant and maintain best practices in their network and digital environments.”

The warning comes amid rising concerns by US national security officials about Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft.

Read the full story:

Related article FBI urges Olympic athletes to leave personal phones at home ahead of Beijing games

Brittany Bowe of USA looks on during a training session at the National Speed Skating Oval before the start of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games on January 30.

Carrying your country’s flag during the Opening Ceremony at an Olympic Games is a massive honor and one only few athletes will able to experience in their lifetimes.

So ahead of the ceremonial beginning of the Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium, here are the flagbearers for some of the Games’ biggest players:

Zhang Yimou runs with the torch during the 2022 Olympic Torch Relay at the Olympic Forest Park in Beijing, on Feb. 2.

Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou’s opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics was, for many, the abiding memory of China’s first Games.?

In a display of color, coordination and pyrotechnics, the celebrated director announced the country’s arrival on the world stage in dramatic fashion, complete with performers “painting” on an LED scroll, an ode to China’s space program and 2,008 drummers chanting and playing in unison.

The production set a high bar for future directors – including himself – because almost 14 years later, Zhang is back to oversee the Winter Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

“The burden is very heavy,” he told state news agency Xinhua in an interview last month, reflecting on the pressure of becoming the first person to direct both Summer and Winter Games ceremonies.?

But much has changed – in China and the world – since 2008.

The pandemic: For one, the tight Covid-19 restrictions have posed significant logistical difficulties. While in 2008 Zhang was able to call on around 15,000 Opening Ceremony performers, this year’s cast is just a fifth of that. The show is also expected to be significantly shorter, down from four hours to just over an hour and a half, though this is partly due to the cold weather and safety concerns.

China on the world stage: Perhaps more importantly, though, the way China views its place in the world has also undergone a profound transformation in the intervening years.

“In 2008, the Olympics was a brilliant stage and chance for our country to show ourselves,” Zhang told Xinhua. “In fact, there are a plenty of pages across our 5,000-year history that we would like to present to the world. Our civilization, our history, and how we got to where we are today.

Opening Ceremony: What this means for the themes and design of 2022’s ceremonies remain to be seen. Details about proceedings are tightly under wraps, but Zhang hinted that the cauldron-lighting could be more spectacular than 2008’s, which saw former gymnast Li Ning circling the Bird’s Nest stadium suspended on high wires.

“It will be unprecedented in the over 100-year history of the Olympic Games,” Zhang said, adding: “I’m very nervous. I think it’s totally innovative and people will be surprised.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/zhang-yimou-olympics-opening-closing-ceremony/index.html

The US State Department has shared information about China’s alleged human rights abuses with US Olympians and defended athletes’ right to express opposition to those alleged violations on the eve of the?Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

Protest ban: The Olympic Charter’s Rule 50?dictates that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites,” but it does not prohibit voicing concerns on social media or during media interviews.

Chinese warning: Athletes should not express anything “against the Olympic spirit,” an official on the Beijing organizing committee said recently, without acknowledging the rule doesn’t prohibit freedom of expression outside Olympic sites.

It remains unclear what kinds of protests athletes might partake in, but the comments could have a chilling effect on some competitors.

Allegations against China: The United States has said that China is?committing genocide and crimes against humanity?against Uyghur Muslims and ethnic and religious minority groups who live in the western region of Xinjiang. China has also silenced dissent, taken political prisoners and set up invasive surveillance of its population, critics and US officials say.

China denies the allegations and has?called for the US?to “stop interfering” with the Olympics.

Read more:

An athlete is pictured through the Olympic rings while training during a practice session on February 3, 2022 at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre, ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP) (Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article State Department backs Team USA athletes' freedom of expression in Beijing

Foreign journalists given spectator tickets to the Opening Ceremony have to undergo four Covid-19 tests – 48 and 24 hours before the event, and 24 hours and seven days after.

You also have to be vaccine-boosted and be in Beijing for at least 14 days ahead of the ceremony.

On Friday, we gathered at our meeting point eight hours before the scheduled starting time of the ceremony.

We boarded the waiting bus after staff verified our Covid-19 test results and were then given a photo ID for the event.

We were then taken to an elaborate security check area set up at Chaoyang Park, still miles away from the stadium.

No bags allowed so everyone has been stuffing phones and power banks in pockets.

View of the Beijing National Stadium ahead of the Olympic Opening Ceremony

Once cleared, we entered a security bubble and switched to a different “clean” bus, where minders handed out the actual ticket as well as bag of snacks and water.

The bus left for the stadium around 3 p.m. local time traveling through an almost deserted city as police cordoned off streets for Olympic traffic.

Upon entering the Olympic Green, the bus traversed down winding roads in search of the Bird’s Nest. We finally stopped and then it was another long march to the stadium.

After half an hour or so, we finally reached the actual entrance. Another security check and we were into the stadium ground, which felt eerily quiet for the Games’ curtain raiser.

Inside, spectators were assigned every other seat with plenty of empty ones by the time the pre-show was about to begin.

With the temperature fast dropping, it started to feel freezing in the stadium even with layers of winter clothes.

In goodie bags, organizers provided each spectator with a flimsy fleece blanket and some personal warmer patches – not forgetting a chocolate bar.

Inside the stadium ahead of Friday's Opening Ceremony.

Shuey Rhon Rhon (L), the mascot of the 2022 Winter Paralympics, and Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics, are pictured in the Olympic Village in Beijing on January 27.

The mascot for the Winter Olympics is Bing Dwen Dwen – a panda dressed in a full-body “shell” made out of ice – and Shuey Rhon Rhon for the Paralympics, a Chinese lantern child.

Bing Dwen Dwen (Bing means “ice” in Mandarin Chinese, while Dwen Dwen means “child”) was chosen from more than 5,800 submissions from around the world.

The “shell” design enables the panda – China’s national animal – to skate, snowboard and ski.

According to the?Paralympic website, Shuey is the same pronunciation as the Chinese character for “snow,” the first Rhon means “to include, to tolerate,” and the second means “to melt, fuse and warm.”

Authorities have stepped up security around Beijing 2022 venues as Friday’s Opening Ceremony fast approaches.

Lots of surrounding streets are blocked off around the Beijing National Stadium, commonly referred to as The Bird’s Nest, which will host the curtain raiser.

There are crowds of security guards in the area and multiple gates to pass through in order to get to the stadium.

There is also the ‘closed loop’ to contend with as organizers bid to stop the spread of Covid-19 during the Games.

Anyone entering the bubble must be fully vaccinated, or face an additional 21-day quarantine upon arrival in Beijing, before being allowed in.

They must also use an app to upload their body temperature and answer questions about their health status every day.

Participants will be tested for Covid-19 every day and must wear face masks at all times.

An official wearing personal protective equipment directs arriving passengers at a PCR testing center at Beijing Capital International Airport on Thursday.

The stakes for catching Covid-19 at Beijing 2022 are extremely high.

The PCR tests for the Beijing Winter Games are also more stringent than those used by others sports events, such as the NBA and NHL, meaning they can return positive at a lower viral load.

A positive test can also affect the person’s teammates and colleagues.

Anyone who has had a mask-less exposure for longer than 15 minutes to an infected person is considered a close contact and will be subject to twice daily testing.

The system – and China’s sensitive testing policy – has already been put to the test after German-born Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans tested positive upon her arrival into Beijing and was sent to an isolation facility.

Her emotional Instagram post and subsequent involvement from the IOC shows how serious China is about limiting any hint of infection.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose during their meeting in Beijing, on February 4, 2022.

Bilateral talks are underway in Beijing between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, according to Chinese state media.?

In their first in-person meeting in over two years, the two leaders will discuss bilateral trade and key issues on “regional and global agendas,” according to a letter by Putin published Thursday by Xinhua News Agency, ahead of the meeting.??

In the same letter, Putin praised the “new era” of relations between China and Russia and highlighted the growing economic and energy ties between the two countries.?

According to Chinese state media, Xi said that the pair met at the Opening Ceremony at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, at which they promised they’d meet eight years later in Beijing, and that he hopes their meeting will “inject more vitality into China-Russia relations.”

China’s President is expected to host a series of bilateral meetings Friday and a banquet for dignitaries attending the Winter Games – including United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, according to Beijing.

The Games are a big moment for Lydia Gunko, Ukraine’s first female bobsledder at the Winter Olympics — one of the new sports being debuted in Beijing.

This competition is “extremely important … for the development of this sport in Ukraine,” Gunko told CNN, adding she hopes her appearance will have an impact back home.

But looming over her debut is the stand-off between Ukraine and Russia, with tensions high after thousands of Russian troops moved to the border between the two nations.

Ukrainians warned to avoid Russians: Ukraine’s sports minister has already said its athletes should stay away from their Russian rivals — who, like in Tokyo 2020, are competing under the?ROC?banner again because of a doping scandal — at the Games, and that Ukrainian athletes have been briefed on how to behave in case of “provocations.”

Gunko, 28, said she will follow the guidance, adding the conflict has weighed on her mentally ahead of the Games.

She added: “You try to distance yourself from all of this during competition and training. Of course, in real life, you can’t isolate yourself because many friends and acquaintances suffered from Russia’s actions.”

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BEIJING, CHINA FEBRUARY 1, 2022: Short track speed skaters Semyon Yelistratov (R) of the ROC Team and Oleg Gandei of Ukraine train at the Capital Indoor Stadium ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Beijing and Zhangjiakou from 4 to 20 February 2022. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images)

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A "Closed loop, No Entry" sign is seen in the stands at the Big Air course ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Ski Jumping Centre on January 31.

Having been largely sealed off from the world for two years, Beijing is now welcoming the arrival of thousands of foreign Olympians, officials, journalists and support staff — including from countries where the highly transmissible Omicron variant is raging.

Whether Chinese authorities can keep the Games Covid-safe is the ultimate test of China’s zero-Covid strategy.

To limit the spread, it is sealing the entire Games inside what authorities have called a “closed loop system” — a bubble completely cut off from the rest of the city.

Here’s how it works: The Beijing bubble is welcoming an estimated 11,000 people from around the world — and they will be shuttling through three competition zones up to 111 miles (180 kilometers) apart.

Securing the bubble will require massive manpower, meticulous planning, pervasive surveillance and rigorous government enforcement.

The separation: Participants will be confined to the “closed loop” and they will compete, work, eat and sleep without making any contact with the wider Chinese population.

The “closed loop” consists of a series of stadiums, conference centers and more than 70 hotels, with those in downtown Beijing fenced off and closely guarded by police; it even has its own transportation system, with 4,000 vehicles dedicated to moving participants from place to place.

The three zones are linked by high-speed train and highways. To maintain the separation, even the train cars are divided, and the closed-loop buses are given specially marked lanes. Drivers not part of the Olympics who cross into these lanes will be fined.

Athletes, staff and volunteers inside the closed loop will also be separated from spectators, who have their own transport and entrance to the events.?

Inside the bubble: Anyone entering the bubble must be fully vaccinated, or face an additional 21-day quarantine upon arrival in Beijing before being allowed in.

They must also use an app to upload their body temperature and answer questions about their health status every day.

Participants will be tested for Covid every day and must wear face masks at all times.

The White House was lit up in red, white and blue — the colors of the American flag — on Thursday night, in support of American athletes competing at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Though the US sent its athletic teams to the Games, it decided not to send any government officials to attend as part of a diplomatic boycott, protesting alleged human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region.

The decision was met with furious warnings of retaliation from China, which denies the allegations. Several other countries, including Canada and Australia, have also joined the diplomatic boycott.

In a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed the event as proof that “no difficulty and challenge can ever prevent the Chinese people from vigorously advancing.”

Kim called the Olympics “a festival common to the peoples and sportspersons of all countries in the world aspiring after peace, friendship and solidarity.”

China's Wenjing Sui and Cong Han compete in the figure skating team pairs short program on Friday.

A world record was set Friday in the figure skating team event — and it came from the host nation.

China dazzled in the third segment of Friday’s session: pairs skating. Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, skating to music from the movie “Mission Impossible 2,” set a short program world record score of 82.83 points.

After three segments of the total eight, the United States leads with 28 points. The ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) has 26 points, while China is in third with 21 points. The team event is scheduled to conclude Monday.

To start off the team event Friday, American men’s figure skater Nathan Chen put the US in the lead with his performance in the men’s single short skate portion of the program. Chen, a three-time world champion at just 22 years old, notched a personal best of 111.71 to give Team USA 10 points.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue extended Team USA’s lead, adding 10 points for their top performance in the ice dance rhythm dance portion of the team competition.

The National Stadium is lit up in Beijing on Wednesday, two days before it hosts the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

While the Chinese capital, Beijing, is the official host city of the Games, venues are spread across three areas.

The capital is home to the Beijing National Stadium, commonly referred to as The Bird’s Nest, and will host the opening and closing ceremonies and skating events.

Yanqing — a mountainous district 75 kilometers (about 47 miles) northwest of Beijing — is ?the site of the alpine skiing and sliding events.

And Zhangjiakou is a Nordic skiing and snowboarding destination a further 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) beyond Yanqing.

Of the 13 venues hosting events, one — the National Speed Skating Oval — has been newly built in Beijing, while existing venues have also been renovated for the Games.

Each of the three zones has its own Olympic Village, while all three are connected by a newly built, high-speed, intercity railway.

It’s an ambitious system designed to keep the Olympics completely separate from the rest of the mostly Covid-free Chinese population.

The ice rinks have been smoothed out, the brown mountain slopes draped with artificial snow. The Olympic flame is on its final journey to the heart of Beijing, ready to light up the night sky.

Defying a raging pandemic and months of international controversy, the?2022 Winter Olympics?will officially open as scheduled in the Chinese capital tonight.

Sealed off from its host city by a labyrinth of high fences, thermal gates and facial-recognition cameras, this is an Olympics like no other.

Politics, protests and Covid protocols have become an unavoidable part of the build-up to these Games, and if anything, events taking place outside the sporting arena during the next two weeks will receive as much attention as actions on the ice and snow.

How China responds will be a major test for the country’s leader Xi Jinping, who is gearing up for an unprecedented third term in power this fall.

For China’s ruling Communist Party, the Games will offer a moment of national triumph, as Beijing becomes the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. It is also the first major global event inside of China since the country shut its borders two years ago in the wake of the initial coronavirus outbreak.

But among the Chinese public, enthusiasm for the Winter Games pales in comparison with 2008, when residents gathered in their thousands across Beijing to watch the Summer Olympics opening ceremony on large public screens, eager to be a part of history. This year, few viewing parties are taking place in a capital subdued by heavy-handed snap lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions.

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ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA - FEBRUARY 03: Su Yiming of Team China attends the snowboard slopestyle training session ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park on February 3, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province of China. (Photo by Lu Lin/CHINASPORTS/VCG via Getty Images)

Related article An Olympics like no other: Can sports overcome the controversy of Beijing 2022?

Russia's President?Vladimir?Putin?(L) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping pose during a meeting in Beijing on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing to begin talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, Chinese state-run media outlet CGTN reported Friday.

The talks will be held in Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, a diplomatic complex in Beijing where state visits are held, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The two leaders will discuss bilateral trade and “relevant international topics,” Putin said in a letter published in Chinese state media on Thursday.?

On the schedule: During the high-level talks, Putin will be joined by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, President’s Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Energy Nikolai Shulginov and Igor Sechin, head of state energy company Rosneft, Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday.?

Putin and Xi will also have a one-on-one lunch, Ushakov said.?In the evening, Putin is expected to attend the opening ceremony of the Games.

A critical meeting: Xi has not left China since the pandemic began, and this summit will be the first time he has met foreign counterparts face-to-face in more than 400 days.

The Xi-Putin meeting comes at a pivotal moment for both sides, as the massing of Russian troops at the country’s border with Ukraine fuels fears of an imminent invasion — an event that would be?sure to overshadow?China’s Olympic moment.

IOC President Thomas Bach attends a news conference at the main media center in Beijing on Thursday.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach?said the mission of the Olympics is to “unify” and called on world leaders to not mix sport and politics, during his speech at the 139th?IOC Session on Thursday.?

Speaking ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, Bach said the mission of the Games can only be accomplished “if the Olympics are politically neutral and do not become a tool to achieve political goals.”

He noted that in January 2020 the IOC could already see “the dark clouds of the growing politicization of sport on the horizon.” Adding, “the boycott ghosts of the past were rearing their ugly heads again,” ahead of Beijing.?

The United States announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in December, citing China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.”

Several countries including Canada and Australia have joined the diplomatic boycott.

A Belgian?Olympian?has been released from isolation in Beijing, following an emotional plea for help about her treatment ahead of the?Winter Games.

Kim Meylemans was forced into isolation after she had tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in the Chinese capital.

She thought she could leave the facility after three days of isolation and two consecutive negative tests, she said on Instagram Wednesday.

But instead of returning to the Olympic Village, the 25-year-old skeleton racer was taken to a separate government facility, she added.

Fighting through tears, she said she may never get to enter the Beijing Winter Olympics Village.

Hours after her emotional plea for help, the athlete was released from the facility late Wednesday following an intervention from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), she said.

Beijing’s Olympic bubble: Meylemans’ Winter Olympics journey is an example of some of the stringent measures taken by China, one of the few places continuing to adhere to a zero-Covid policy.

Meylemans had tested negative a dozen times prior to her departure for the Games and was shocked by her positive result in Beijing, she said.

To limit the spread of infection, Beijing is holding the entire Winter Games inside what authorities have called a “closed loop system” —?a bubble completely cut off from the rest of the city?and its wider population.

Inside the bubble, anyone who tests positive will be immediately removed from the Games. Those who are symptomatic will be sent to a designated hospital for treatment, while asymptomatic cases will be taken to an isolation facility. They won’t be allowed to return to the bubble until all symptoms disappear and they test negative twice in a row.

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Belgium's Kim Meylemans competes during the second run of the women's skeleton competition of the IBSF Skeleton World Championship in Altenberg, eastern Germany, on February 11, 2021.

Related article Olympian Kim Meylemans allowed to leave Beijing Covid isolation after emotional plea

India on Thursday announced a diplomatic boycott of Beijing’s?Winter Olympics?after a commander involved in 2020 border clashes between the two countries appeared as an Olympic torchbearer in the customary torch relay leading up to the Games.

The last-minute boycott, which will see India’s top envoy in Beijing sit out Friday’s opening ceremony, adds the world’s most populous democracy to a list of Western nations who have launched their own?diplomatic no-shows, citing China’s human rights record — setting the tone for a controversial Olympic Games.

Following the official move, India’s public broadcaster Doordarshan also?announced?it will not telecast the opening and closing ceremonies live. The country has one athlete competing this year, alpine skier Arif Khan.

The 2020 clashes: The decisions were sparked after images showed People’s Liberation Army commander Qi Fabao honored as one of the some 1,200 people to bear the Olympic torch as it moves across the Olympic competition zones in the lead-up to the lighting of the Olympic cauldron Friday evening.

Qi has been hailed a hero in China for his role fighting in the deadly 2020 India-China skirmish at a disputed border in the Himalayan region that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. China has said the People’s Liberation Army lost four soldiers.

The skirmish saw soldiers on both sides?battling with sticks, stones and nail-studded bamboo poles in what was the deadliest border clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbors in more than 40 years. Both sides have accused the other of overstepping the de facto border, the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that runs along the western sector of the Galwan Valley.

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Qi Fabao, a regimental commander in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), carrying the Olypmic torch on Wednesday Feb 2, 2022 at Olympic Foreign Park, Beijing, China. Qi Fabao is one of the PLA soldiers involved in the deadly clash in Galwan Valley skirmish on 15 Jun 2020, in which 20 Indian troops were killed, and Chinese side suffered 4 casualties. Honorary title Heroic Regimental Commander in Border Defense has been granted to Qi Fabao for his heroic service in the clash.<0x0a> (Newscom TagID: eyepress110943.jpg) [Photo via Newscom]

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Friday is officially the first day of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and athletes have started to pour in from around the world.

CNN will be covering events in the Chinese capital, both inside and outside the Olympic bubble.

Here’s what to know ahead of the opening ceremony:

Officials decked in personal protective equipment wait to validate Olympic accreditation for people arriving at Beijing Capital International Airport on January 24 in Beijing, China.

The Beijing Olympic Committee identified 21 new Covid-19 cases among Games-related personnel on Thursday, it said in a statement ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony.?

Since the “closed loop” system officially began on Jan. 23, a total of 308 Olympic-related Covid cases have been reported, 111 of which involve athletes or team officials.

Of the 21 new cases, 14 were detected among new airport arrivals and seven from those already inside the closed loop, which separates Olympic athletes, stakeholders, and staff from the Beijing public.?

Nine?of?the 21 cases involved athletes or team officials, two of which were already inside the closed loop.

Since Jan. 23, nearly 12,000 people have arrived in Beijing and more than 670,000 Covid tests have been administered, the statement added.

Socially distanced spectators look on during skating events at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing on Friday.

Some 150,000 spectators will be invited to attend the 2022 Winter Games, vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee Yang Shu’an said on Thursday.

Shu’an said Olympic venues will be split evenly between spectators from inside the “closed loop” system, which separates Games-related personnel from the public, and those living outside of it.?

The 150,000 spectators from outside the closed loop will include international people residing in mainland China, diplomatic personnel, marketing partners, winter sports enthusiasts, residents, and local students, he said.

Spectators inside the closed loop will consist of members of the Olympic family, national Olympic committee delegations, athletes, media representatives and broadcasters, Shu’an added.

On Jan. 17, the IOC said tickets for the Games would not go on sale for international visitors or the general public, citing Covid-19 concerns. Instead, it decided groups of spectators would need to be invited to fill the stands.?

Freedom of speech is restricted in three areas during the Winter Olympics in Beijing, but athletes are free to speak during news conferences, and via social media as long as they don’t insult other people or violate their rights, International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials said Thursday.

IOC officials said these rules apply to all Olympics, wherever they are held.

When asked whether athletes should be fearful of their well-being?and?safety if they say things that might be objectionable to the Chinese government, Bach said, “Whenever an athlete is making a statement that he does not insult other people, that he’s not violating the rights of other people,” then they can express their opinion freely.

According to IOC Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi, athletes cannot enjoy the freedom of speech in:

Those are the “three?areas where the athletes themselves have decided that there would be no demonstration,” Dubi told reporters.

“We’ve worked with the organizing committee already in Tokyo and further explain this rule here in the context of Beijing. But again, this was a rule established by the athletes for the athletes?to?respect the dignity of the moment and the place,” Dubi added.

When China’s leader Xi Jinping opens the?Beijing Olympics?on Friday, he will be flanked by leaders who are unlikely to quell the chorus of concerns the Games are bolstering an authoritarian regime.

Of the just over 20 presidents, prime ministers, heads of state and royalty set to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics Friday, around half of those dignitaries hail from authoritarian countries with several others listed as “hybrid regimes,” as classified by The Economist Intelligence Unit’s?Democracy Index?2020.

Democratic leaders including from Singapore, Argentina, Ecuador, Mongolia, Poland and Serbia were included in a list of attendees released by China’s Foreign Ministry last week, ahead of a Games already plagued with?controversy.

But notably absent will be leaders of major democratic powers, as Britain, Australia and Canada are among those to join a?US-led diplomatic boycott?of the Games, citing Beijing’s human rights record.?

Instead, the attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and others, will send out an image not just of China’s increasing distance from the West, but of an emerging bloc of Beijing-friendly authoritarian leaders.

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FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands prior to their talks on the sideline of the 11th edition of the BRICS Summit, in Brasilia, Brazil in Nov. 12, 2019. Chinese President Xi Jinping supported Russian President Vladimir Putin in his push to get Western security guarantees precluding NATO's eastward expansion, the Kremlin said Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021 after the two leaders held a virtual summit. Putin and Xi spoke as Moscow faces heightened tensions with the West over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine's border. (Ramil Sitdikov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

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The?Winter Olympics?in Beijing gets underway on Friday with close to 3,000 athletes from 91 nations competing across 109 medal events.

The Games — like last year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo — will be held under strict Covid-19 countermeasures and feature seven different sports.

There will also be new events in bobsled, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, short track and ski jumping.

A detailed schedule of events is?available on the Olympics website, as is a?list of Games broadcasters?in every country around the world.

In the United States, NBC has the broadcast rights to the Games. Viewers will also be able to follow the action on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

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Tickets for the Games will not be sold to the general public due to the pandemic.

Instead, tickets will be distributed to a select group of spectators by authorities, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee said on Jan. 17.

Groups of spectators will be invited on site throughout the Games and will be required to “strictly comply with Covid-19 prevention and control requirements before, during and after watching the Games.”

In a statement, the?International Olympic Committee said those in attendance will be residents of China’s mainland who have the required “Covid-19 countermeasures.”

The announcement came after Beijing reported its first case of the highly transmissible Omicron variant on Jan. 15.