The 2022 Beijing Olympics have officially begun following the Opening Ceremony on Friday. Just months after having the 2020 Tokyo Olympics take place due to being rescheduled, the 2022 Winter Olympics began at National Stadium, which was the host for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
It was a very frigid evening in Beijing for the Opening Ceremony, with a temperature of 26 degree during the event.
The United States was represented by 224 athletes that hail from 31 different states. Speedskater Brittany Bowe and curler John Shuster served as the American Flag bearers. Bowe called being a flag bearer "the honor of a lifetime" when she spoke to the NBC broadcast team. Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor was slated to join Shuster as the United States flag bearer, but she tested positive for COVID-19.
The Olympic flame was lit by Chinese cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang and nordic combined athlete Zhao Jiawen. Yilamujiang is an ethnic Uyghur from Xinjiang -- a region of China in which the country has been accused of committing acts of genocide by the United States, among other nations.
One other interesting development was that Russian Olympic Committee athletes were seen wearing Russian flags on their jackets during the Opening Ceremony. This marks the third consecutive Olympics in which Russian Athletes must compete under the "Russian Olympic Committee" title due to a doping scandal.
It'll certainly be interesting to see if there are any ramifications for the athletes sporting the Russian flag -- which they are not allowed to do at the Games.
The ceremony marked the formal beginning of the Games, which will last from Feb. 4 through Feb. 20. The event began at 7 a.m. ET in the United States, but fans can watch an encore of the opening ceremonies tonight at 8 p.m. ET and you can stream them on fuboTV (try for free).
Let the games begin!
The United States is making their entrance at National Stadium. Speedskater Brittany Bowe and curler John Shuster get the honors of being the American flag bearers. The 224 American athletes hail from 31 different states.
One of the torchbearers, Dinigeer Yilamujiang, is an ethnic Uyghur from Xinjiang — a region of China in which the country has been accused of committing acts of genocide by the United States, among other nations
The Olympic flame is being passed to Chinese athletes that were born in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Pretty cool touch.
The Winter Olympics are officially underway in Beijing.
Host country China is making their entrance into National Stadium. China has 173 athletes that will be participating in the Winter Olympics.
Brittany Bowe calls being a flag bearer "the honor of a lifetime." Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor was slated to join Shuster as the United States flag bearer, but she tested positive for COVID-19.
Former Detroit Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula was Finland's flag bearer. Filppula is a member of the Finnish Olympic men's hockey team.
Countries are beginning to walk in during the Opening Ceremony. Greece is the first country to enter National Stadium as they traditionally do since Athens hosted the first Olympic Games.
The temperatures are rather frigid in Beijing. It's currently 26 degrees in the Olympic host city where it is 8 p.m.
The Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony is set to get underway in Beijing shortly. The United States' flag bearers will be speedskater Brittany Bowe and curler John Shuster. Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor was supposed to serve as the flag bearer, but was replaced by Bowe after she tested positive for COVID-19.
