The 2022 Olympics opening ceremony paid homage to previous Winter Games while adding a new, wintery twist.
One of the main events from Friday’s ceremony saw a drop of water transform into an ice sculpture of the Olympic rings. The process began with a drop of Chinese ink falling from above, turning into the Yellow River and pouring down onto the surface at Beijing’s National Stadium, drawing inspiration from an ancient Chinese poem. The water then materialized and became ice.
From that ice emerged a massive water cube, which soon became an ice cube. Twenty-four laser beams carved and engraved the surface of the cubs with the names of the 23 cities that have previously hosted the Winter Games before ending with Beijing.
Six hockey players then interacted with a virtual puck. The repeated bumps between the puck and the cube set off more laser beams and more breaking. In the end, the cube broke apart and revealed the Olympic rings.
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The display immediately preceded the Parade of Nations, where Olympic athletes from 91 nations walked beneath the ice rings.
The 2022 opening ceremony was not the first to put an ingenious spin on the Olympic rings. Previous ceremonies have formed the rings using fire, snow and even people. At the Tokyo Olympics this past summer, Japanese carpenters crafted the rings out of wood.
