Like an air of déjà vu. Chinese director Zhang Yimou, who staged the spectacular opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics (OG), will once once more be at the helm of the same ceremony during the Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital. in February, organizers said on Friday.
Mr. Zhang, 71, pledged an inauguration “Totally innovative”, while conceding that the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the low temperatures would prevent reaching the exceptional dimension of the 2008 show and its 15,000 participants.
“Being simple, like in martial arts movies, is like a master’s sword, explained the director to the official news agency New China, in an interview published Friday evening. It looks like a simple stab, but with lethal power. “
The author of Chinese classics like Red Sorghum Where Wives and concubines and martial arts films like Hero Where The Secret of the Flying Daggers pledged nearly 3,000 participants in the ceremony.
Chinese New Year references
Another clue given by Mr. Zhang: the lighting of the Olympic flame will follow a “Daring idea” integrating the concepts of “Environmental protection and low carbon emissions”. ” I am very nervous. I think it’s completely innovative and people will be surprised ”, he added.
Chinese New Year elements, which falls on 1is February, three days before the ceremony, will also be present in the show, the director told the public television channel CGTN.
At the 2008 ceremony, 2,008 musicians beat perfectly rhythmic ancient Chinese drums, and thousands of other participants – martial artists, dancers, opera singers, acrobats and trapeze artists – paraded in lavish costumes.
The show highlighted the history of China and its civilization, and was to symbolize its comeback on the international stage. “It’s different nowZhang told New China. The image of the Chinese, and the rise of our national status, everything is totally different now. “
“With the pandemic, the world needs a new and strengthened vision, that is, people from all over the world come together to face the difficulties and envision a bright future”, he added.
