[Tai Road Special News]The 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games officially opened on Friday (4th) night, and the ceremony was held at the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) at 8 pm. The ceremony, like the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics earlier, was also directed by Zhang Yimou. Shen Chen, a well-known Chinese director who participated in the choreography of the opening ceremony, revealed that the name of the opening ceremony was “The Compilation of Life”, which aims to express ” The concept of continuous self-improvement, self-breakthrough, and integration of the disabled and the disabled” shows the touching moments of the life of the disabled.
According to domestic media reports, 30% of the performers participating in the opening ceremony are persons with disabilities, and 70% are able-bodied persons, but the main performers in the ceremony are all persons with disabilities.
According to Shen Chen, the director of the opening ceremony, the whole performance is mainly about telling the story of the disabled. He said, “What we want to express is the most beautiful, wonderful and splendid blooming moment in the heart of every disabled person. Everyone has their own inner story, and everyone is changing the world and creating the world.”
Friday night’s opening ceremony was attended by the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), John Parsons, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping. The ceremony started with 13 children from the Beijing School for the Blind sang two songs, including the bilingual song “Ride on the Wings of Songs” performed in Mandarin and German. The average age of these students was about 10 years old, with the youngest among them One is only 6 years old. The countdown to the opening ceremony also used wheelchair curling to interpret part of it, because it was in this event that China achieved a “zero breakthrough” in medals at the Winter Paralympics four years ago.
During the entry of the Chinese flag, 8 flag-bearers who are in charge of the disabled and the disabled are in charge of holding the flag. Among them are the representatives of Chinese disabled athletes and those who have contributed to the cause of the disabled. When the athletes entered the field, the Beijing Winter Paralympic mascot “Xue Rongrong” also appeared, leading everyone to welcome disabled athletes from afar. Among them, the Chinese delegation was led by Guo Yujie and Wang Zhidong, who served as flag bearers.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the official opening of the Beijing Winter Paralympics, purple fireworks were released over the Bird’s Nest. Later, an orchestra composed of 47 blind student musicians from Chongqing Special Education Center played the International Paralympic Committee’s anthem “Future Hymn”. Li Duan, a blind track and field athlete, is in charge of lighting the torch. It is worth noting that this is the first time in the history of the Paralympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games that a blind person has lit the torch.
As the 13th Winter Paralympic Games in history, more than 650 athletes from 49 countries and regions participated in this year’s event. Among them, the Chinese delegation as the host country has 96 athletes, and they will compete in 73 of 6 sports. project. This is the sixth time that China has sent personnel to participate in the Winter Paralympics. China, which participated in the first event in Salt Lake City in the United States in 2002, did not receive any results in the first four Winter Paralympic Games, and it was not until the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games. Won a medal for the first time and won a gold medal in the wheelchair curling mixed doubles event.
It is worth mentioning that, with regard to Russia’s sudden invasion of Ukraine last Thursday (24th), the IPC on Wednesday (2nd) was originallyAllow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as ‘neutral’, but the national flags of the two countries must be replaced by the flag of the International Paralympic Committee, and the results will not be included in the medal table. However, the decision has been strongly criticized by many countries. With the disappointment of the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, and the fact that some countries will not participate in the competition, in order to avoid serious consequences for the Beijing Winter Paralympics, the IPC finally announced on Thursday. turn the page”,Announced ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
As for the Ukrainian athletes whose homes have been ravaged by war, it took more than 4 days and 4 nights to overcome all odds to be safe.Arrive in Beijingthe President of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee, Valeriy Sushkevych, bluntly said that they chose to continue to participate in the competition to send a message, symbolizing that Ukraine will be a country now or in the future.
After the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games was unveiled today, it will close on the 13th of this month. This year’s event has 6 major events: Paralympic alpine skiing, Paralympic biathlon, Paralympic cross-country skiing, Paralympic snowboarding, Paralympic ice hockey and wheelchair curling. A total of 78 gold medals have been won. The event will be held on Saturday. (5th).
Source: Comprehensive foreign media
This article is by “Sportsroad“Originally published in “Beijing Winter Paralympics Officially Unveils Unprecedented Torch for the Blind」