13:08
The show begins
Just like in 2008, director Zhang Yimou is the master of ceremonies for the opening ceremony. It starts with a colorful light show, supported by visual effects and projections. The word Spring is projected in the sky in Chinese and English.
13:03
The year of the tiger
“Happy Chinese New Year” can be read in colorful letters in Beijing’s National Stadium. The Chinese New Year began on February 1st with the beginning of the lunar new year. It is dedicated to the tiger and the celebrations last for over two weeks. Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping enters the big stage and waves beamingly from the stands.
12:57 p.m
Historic opening ceremony
In a few moments, the official opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will begin. And this moment is already historic, because Beijing is now officially the first city to host winter and summer games after the 2008 summer games. Compared to the opening ceremony 14 years ago, everything is a few sizes smaller this year due to the corona pandemic. Instead of 15,000 performers in 2008, only 3,000 people will be there this time. The many athletes will probably stay away from the celebration to minimize the risk of infection.
12:54
Medal chances of the Swiss
In the Swiss camp, some is possible, especially in the alpine competitions. Marco Odermatt and Beat Feuz for men and Michelle Gisin and Lara Gut-Behrami for women are always good for a medal. The two curling teams in Switzerland have already won one or the other precious metal and are among the favorites. Julie Zogg and Jan Scherrer want to climb onto the podium on their snowboards, while Sarah Hoefflin and Mathilde Gremaud are the favorites for big air and slopestyle.
12:49 p.m
Austria wants to grow again
Team Austria had to settle for 14 medals in Korea 2018 and wants to celebrate more in Beijing. Even without ski jumping dominator Marita Kramer, who, like teammate Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, tested positive for the corona virus, there is a lot in the red-white-red this year. In the alpine area, the ÖSV has some hot irons in the fire with Vincent Kriechmayr, Manuel Feller, Johannes Strolz, Marco Schwarz and Matthias Mayer. Tobogganist Madeleine Egle, snowboard vice world champion Alessandro Hämmerle and freestyle youngster Matej Svancer also have medal potential. The same applies to the combined athletes led by Johannes Lamparter.
12:40 p.m
German medal hopes
In 2018, the German Olympic team won a whopping 31 medals, just missing the top spot in the medal table. It seems questionable in advance whether it will be possible to build on that this year. Especially in biathlon, where there has always been a lot of precious metal lost in the past, the prospects are rather poor this time. Medals are planned for this in bobsleigh and skeleton. The Nordic Combined and the ski jumping team around Karl Geiger and Katharina Althaus also want to collect medals. In the alpine area, in the absence of Thomas Dreßen, Linus Straßer, Romed Baumann, Andreas Sander and Kira Weidle attacked above all. After bronze in Pyeongchang, Ramona Hofmeister is aiming for another podium place on the snowboard.
12:32
In the sign of Corona
In Beijing, too, the dominant topic in 2022 is of course Corona. There are particularly strict rules to keep the virus in check. It is tested regularly and even the smallest sign is considered positive and you may not be able to start. The virus has already struck in the German team. After some officials and the figure skater Nolan Seegert, the combined athletes Eric Frenzel and Terence Weber recently tested positive and are worried about a start. Prominent corona failures of other nations are, for example, combined Jarl-Magnus Riiber from Norway or Austria’s top ski jumper Marita Kramer.
12:26
The greatest winter games of all time
In terms of medal decisions alone, the biggest winter games in history are coming up in Beijing. A total of 109 sets of precious metals will be awarded to the best of almost 2,900 athletes over the next 16 days. Compared to 2018, there are seven new disciplines in the program. For the first time, medals will be awarded in the women’s monobob, in ski freestyle big air events and in the mixed events in freestyle, ski jumping, snowboard cross and in the short track team relay.
Let the games begin
Nǐ hǎo and a warm welcome from the Chinese capital Beijing. Today the 2022 Winter Olympics will officially open! We will report LIVE from 1:00 p.m. (CET) from the opening ceremony in the national stadium.