Olympics Games Open With A Bang, And Cold War Echo
NDTV
Triumphant fireworks were launched into the night sky after Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the games open. Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin unveiled their alliance, proclaiming friendship between their countries with "no limits".
China mixed politics and sport with a boldness unseen since the Cold War on Friday, with President Xi Jinping announcing a new alliance with Russia's Vladimir Putin just hours before presiding over a spectacular Olympics opening ceremony.
Held in the famed Bird's Nest stadium before a crowd thinned out because of COVID-19, the opening ceremony easily cleared the high hurdle of spectacle expected of China. Three thousand performers took to a stage comprised of 11,600 square metres of high-definition LED screens.
Dancers poured into the stadium waving glowing green stalks to mark the first day of spring on the Chinese calendar, followed by an explosion of white and green fireworks that spelled the word "Spring".
Lasers carved imagery from each of the previous 23 Winter Games. The block was then "broken" by ice hockey players, enabling the Olympic rings to emerge, all in white.
