The 2022 Winter Olympics officially kicked off with the opening ceremony at Beijing National Stadium on Friday, February 4, 2022.
In this photo, Team USA flag bearers Brittany Bowe and John Shuster lead the American athletes into the stadium for the traditional Parade of Nations.
Fireworks over Beijing
Fireworks are seen over National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
This exterior view of the stadium’s design shows why it is widely known as the Bird’s Nest.
Team USA flag bearers
Team USA, with flag bearers Brittany Bowe and John Shuster framed through one of the Olympic rings, enters the stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Shuster, a curler, is participating in his fifth Olympics. Bowe, a three-time Olympian speedskater, stepped in as flag bearer after the original choice, Elana Meyers Taylor, tested positive for COVID-19 and had to miss the opening ceremony.
2022 Olympic mascot
The Beijing 2022 mascot, an ice-covered panda named Bing Dwen Dwen, is seen during the opening ceremony.
According to Olympic organizers: “‘Bing’ means ice and also symbolises purity and strength, and ‘Dwen Dwen’ represents children. The mascot embodies the strength and willpower of athletes and will help to promote the Olympic spirit.”
Great Britain’s flag bearers
Flag bearers Dave Ryding and Eve Muirhead lead the team from Great Britain into the stadium during the opening ceremony — wearing Union Jack flag sweaters to match.
Russian athletes
Russia’s flag bearers Olga Fatkulina and Vadim Shipachev lead their delegation during the opening ceremony.
Russian athletes are officially representing the Russian Olympic Committee, or ROC, instead of the nation itself after Russia was hit with a four-year ban for falsifying data on doping.
Team ROC
Russian ice hockey player Vadim Shipachyov and speed skater Olga Fatkulina carry the ROC flag during the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Hockey-inspired choreography
Performers dressed as hockey players take part in the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Young performers
Performers take part in the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
American athletes
Flag bearers Brittany Bowe and John Shuster lead Team USA during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
More than 150 athletes on the 2022 U.S. Olympic team were slated to take part in the opening ceremony.
Team USA photo op
Members of Team USA pose for photos during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
National Stadium
An overhead view of Beijing National Stadium as Team USA marches in during the opening ceremony. The U.S. has over 220 athletes participating in the Winter Games, but there is no delegation of government officials in the stands after the Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott over China’s “egregious human rights abuses.”
“The athletes on Team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
O Canada
Canada’s flag bearers Charles Hamelin and Marie-Philip Poulin parade during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Canada, a winter sports powerhouse, will be competing in 109 events.
Watching at home
Three generations of a family watch the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics in their living room in Shanghai, China, on February 4, 2022.
Dignitaries wave
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and China’s President Xi Jinping (front row center) wave during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
China has faced protests and a U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games over its record of human rights abuses, including repression of its Uyghur Muslim minority, which the U.S. has called a genocide.
Raising China’s flag
Troops prepare to raise the flag of the People’s Republic of China at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Human rights protests
On the day of the opening ceremony in Beijing, protesters in cities around the world staged demonstrations against China’s record of human rights abuses.
In this photo, Tibetan Youth Congress activists stomp on a Chinese national flag during a protest in New Delhi, India.
“Free China”
Activists protest outside the Consulate of China in Los Angeles, California, on the eve of the Beijing Olympics.
Protesters criticized the decision to award the Games to China amid the country’s record of human rights violations in Hong Kong and Tibet, as well as allegations of crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Read more: For China’s Uyghurs, “the genocide doesn’t stop” for the Olympics
Protest in Berlin
An activist in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate during a protest over China’s human rights record on February 4, 2022.
Olympic protest
Protesters hold a banner decrying China’s human rights record during a demonstration against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, ahead of the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
United Nations leader
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is seen on a giant screen during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Team China
Flag bearers Tingyu Gao and Dan Zhao of the host nation, China, lead their team during the opening ceremony.
Team South Korea
South Korea’s flag bearers Kwak Yoon-gy and Kim A-lang lead the delegation during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
North Korea will not be taking part; it was suspended by the International Olympic Committee after skipping the Tokyo Summer Games.
Team GB (Great Britain)
Britain’s flag bearers Eve Muirhead and David Ryding lead the delegation during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Team GB is fielding a team of 50 athletes and reserves, including four who have won medals in past Olympics, BBC News reports.
Team Jamaica
Team Jamaica flag bearers Benjamin Alexander and Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 4, 2022.
Jamaica is fielding a four-man bobsled team for the first time since 1998, along with competing in two-man bobsled and woman’s monobob.
Team Italy
Flag bearer Michela Moioli leads Team Italy — decked out in cloaks to match — during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Team Malaysia
Flag bearers Aruwin Salehhuddin and Jeffrey Webb of Team Malaysia carry their flag during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
American Samoa
Flag bearer Nathan Crumpton of American Samoa enters the stadium during the opening ceremony.
Crumpton, a skeleton racer, marched shirtless despite the freezing temperatures in Beijing.
Team Romania
Romania’s flag bearers Raluca Stramaturaru and Paul Constantin Pepene lead the delegation during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on February 4, 2022.
A message in fireworks
Fireworks illuminate the night sky and form the word “Spring” over the National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, in Beijing, during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on February 4, 2022.
LED light display
Performers create a flower display with LED lights during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Illuminated stadium
Performers with LED lights illuminate the inside of Beijing National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Team Norway
Norway’s flag bearers Kjetil Jansrud and Maiken Caspersen Falla parade with their teammates during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Team Kazakhstan
The delegation from Kazakhstan takes part in the parade of athletes during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Team Japan
Flag bearers Arisa Go and Akito Watabe of Japan lead their team during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Team Ireland
Ireland’s flag bearers Brendan Newby and Elsa Desmond lead the delegation in the parade of athletes during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Thumbs up from Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives two thumbs up as he watches the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics from the stands in National Stadium.
Putin’s watching
Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, looks on from the stands during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Team Iran
Flag bearers Atefeh Ahmadi and Seyed Sattar Seyd of Iran lead their delegation during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Team Ukraine
Flag bearers Alexandra Nazarova and Oleksandr Abramenko lead Team Ukraine during the athletes’ parade at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Team Greece
Flag bearers Apostolos Angelis and Maria Ntanou of Greece march during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Team Switzerland
Flag bearers Andres Ambuhl and Wendy Holdener of Switzerland lead their team during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Team Israel
Flag bearers Noa Szollos Evgeni Krasnopolski of Israel lead their teammates into Beijing National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Winter Games..
Watch party
Team Great Britain athlete Shelley Rudman joins local school children at The National Lottery Watch Party in Nottingham, England, to celebrate the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 4, 2022.
Team Timor-Leste
Yohan Goncalves Goutt of Timor-Leste carries their flag during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Team Turkey
Flag bearers Furkan Akar and Aysenur Duman of Turkey carry their flag during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Team France
Flag bearers Kevin Rolland and Tessa Worley of France lead their team during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Overhead view
A wide view inside Beijing National Stadium as Team China enters during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Performers in sync
Perfectly synchronized performers at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Stadium spectacle
Performers create a flower display with LED lights during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Stadium.
Team Finland
Ice hockey player Valtteri Filppula of Finland carries the Finnish national flag during the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Team Canada
Team Canada marches in during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium.
On the march
Flag bearers Brittany Bowe and John Shuster of Team USA lead the team during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
On the ice
Performers dressed as hockey players perform during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Olympic rings
A large display of the Olympic rings logo is seen inside the stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
