The XXIV Olympic Winter Games kicked off in spectacular fashion with a stunning opening ceremony at the Beijing National Stadium on Friday.
The lighting of the Olympic cauldron symbolised the start of Beijing 2022 and brought a mesmerising Opening Ceremony to a climactic end.
Athletes from 91 NOCs marched into the Beijing National Stadium for the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony. The Beijing National Stadium, or Bird's Nest as it is affectionately known, became the first venue to host Opening Ceremonies of both the Olympic Winter and Summer Games.
The "One World, One Family" theme of the Opening Ceremony was represented by the image of a single snowflake and was central to the showpiece from beginning to the end of the Ceremony. The theme was based on an ancient Chinese saying which meant that "a truly wise person sees the whole world as a family".
World-renowned Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou played master of ceremonies for a second time, becoming the first person to direct two Opening Ceremonies in the same city. Zhang was also the mastermind behind the spectacular Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony.
The torch race culminated in the lighting of the Olympic flame. In the final torch relay inside the stadium, seven torchbearers carried six torches - representing Chinese winter sports athletes across six generations.
Alpine skier Mohammad Arif Khan held the Indian flag as he made his way in the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Mohammad Arif Khan is India's sole representative in Beijing 2022. India was the 23rd country in the Parade of Nations at Beijing.
Arif Khan, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, is the first-ever Indian athlete to directly qualify for two different events at a single edition of the Winter Games. He will be competing in the giant slalom event on February 13 and the slalom on February 16.
( With inputs from ANI )
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