—President Xi declares Beijing Winter Olympics open
—PM attends glitzy opening ceremony of Olympics
From Our Correspondent
BEIJING: Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday joined the world leaders at Beijing’s National Stadium as the spectacular Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 kicked off here.
Also known as the Bird’s Nest stadium, the venue of Olympics featured a show of ice-cool blue lasers as President Xi Jinping inaugurated the international sports event.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, who also arrived in Beijing Thursday, also attended the colorful event along with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain and Planning Minister Asad Umar.
The ceremony began shortly after President Xi Jinping and International Olympic Committee Chaiperson Thomas Bach entered National Stadium.
According to media reports, around 3,000 athletes from 91 nations would compete across 109 medal events.
The athletes paraded at the opening ceremony including Muhammad Karim from Gilgit-Baltistan who would represent Pakistan in Alpine Skiing.
A four-member contingent will be representing the country at the Winter Olympics, the Pakistan Olympic Association announced on Tuesday. Besides Karim, it includes Syed Noman Ali as the chef de mission, Nadeem Ajmal Khan as the team leader and Mirza Mohammad Qamar as the Covid-19 liaison and the coach.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and his delegation arose from their seats to join the spectators for welcoming Pakistan’s squad passing through the venue waving the national flag.
The athletes made their way into the stadium through a spectacular entrance which has been described as “Gate of China” and “Window of China.”
The ‘Gate of China’ symbolizes that China opens its doors to welcome the world to the Olympic Winter Games.
Held on the first day of Spring by the Chinese calendar, the ceremony saw an opening act by dancers waving glowing green stalks to convey the vitality of the season, followed by an explosion of white and green fireworks that spelled the word “Spring”.
That was followed by the traditional “parade of nations”, with each of the 91 delegations preceded by a woman carrying a placard in the shape of a snowflake resembling a Chinese knot.
