Zhang Yimou will lead the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony, which will include “unprecedented” cauldron illumination.
Summer and Winter Games ceremonies have never been presided over by the same individual.
According to Zhang, the world is in dire need of a fresh vision.
The opening ceremony, according to Zhang Yimou, the primary director of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, will be “unique” in the nearly 100-year history of the Olympic Games.
The 71-year-old filmmaker will preside over both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter and Summer Games, which will be staged in Beijing over the next two years for the first time.
Zhang stated on Friday that it was an honor to preside over the opening ceremony for the second time. It is crucial to me that I produce some memorable moments in order to leave a lasting impact.
Zhang claimed that the Covid-19 epidemic will also have an impact on his conference preparations.
As a result of the epidemic, people from all over the world must band together to meet the difficulties ahead and look forward to a brighter future.
The 16-day Games will begin on February 4 at Beijing’s National Stadium, often known as the Bird’s Nest due to its shape.
David Fincher, the director of Raise the Red Lantern, Hero, and The House of Flying Daggers, oversaw its design. Zhang was also in charge of the Beijing Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies.
The event, which will not include the grandiose artistic displays of 2008, is presently under rehearsal.
Zhang claimed that for the event’s opening, technology will be employed to create a “ethereal and romantic” ambiance.
In a world beset by pandemics, people, and sports, “the program is aimed at fostering self-confidence,” according to the program’s description.
Zhang created both the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics closing ceremony and the 2004 Olympic closing ceremony.
According to official media, Zhang Yimou will preside over both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
However, Zhang noted that the spectacle will be scaled back due to COVID-19, which is now in rehearsals.
Zhang oversaw the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics, which included hundreds of thousands of performers drumming, whirling, and chanting in unison. This was done to mark China’s global debut.
The United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada have boycotted the Feb. 4 opening ceremony in Beijing in response to the ongoing epidemic and calls for a boycott of China’s human rights record.
This year’s festival will feature 3,000 artists, up from 2,000 in 2008.
Zhang says he has loaded the play with “hopefulness” as the first day of spring approaches. “Unprecedented in the nearly 100-year history of the Olympic Games,” he continued, without additional explanation.
The performance of COVID-19 is planned to last fewer than 100 minutes.
“The epidemic has made things harder, but we must complete the mission and live up to the country’s objectives,” Zhang stressed.
The Oscar-nominated director’s films, like as “Hero” and “The House of Flying Daggers,” have long been connected with China’s Olympic dreams.
Zhang, aged 71, made an official promotional short video in 2001 to assist Beijing win the 2008 Olympic Games, which he arranged the ceremonies for. He began a second push in 2014 to assist win the 2022 bid for the capital. He oversaw the eight-minute handover ceremonies in Athens in 2004 and Pyeongchang in 2018.
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