Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will open the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 in a lavish event on Friday.
Xi will begin the fortnight-long games in a ceremony at Beijing's Bird's Nest National Stadium, which was also built for and launched the 2008 summer Olympics. The spectacular opening ceremony will be helmed by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, as it was in 2008.
From February 4 to February 20, 2022, Beijing will host the Winter Olympics. Foreign luminaries attending the event include Russian President Vladimir Putin, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. The increased number of foreign visitors coincides with rise in COVID-19 cases in China and the risk of air pollution during the Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, the United States was one of the first countries to announce that it would not send any diplomatic representation to the Beijing Winter Olympics due to China's human rights violations. Other US allies, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Australia, have applauded this decision. Athletes from these countries, however, are still welcome to compete in the event.
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