A staff member of the Russian Olympic Committee holding and reading the Science and Technology Daily Weekly Edition at Beijing 2022 Main Media Center. (PHOTO: S&T DAILY)
President Xi Jinping on the night of February 4 declared the 24th Olympic Winter Games open at the National Stadium in Beijing, at a dazzling opening ceremony.
Once again, Beijing presented a global audience with spectacular performances and special effects, highlighted by Olympic rings that emerged from a giant "ice cube."
Sports play an important role in uniting and inspiring people, which are especially needed during a time when the world is still reeling from the negative effects of COVID -19. This sentiment is echoed in the updated Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together" approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last July. Together, the newly added term in the motto, recognizes the unifying power of sport and the importance of solidarity, according to the IOC.
Despite the current division, conflict and mistrust in the world, "it is possible to be fierce rivals, while at the same time living peacefully and respectfully together," said IOC President Thomas Bach at the opening ceremony.
The ceremony also demonstrated solidarity via a large snowflake, which was formed by uniting all the placards bearing the name of each participating team.
The large snowflake was later revealed to be the cauldron to hold the Olympic flame. For the first time ever, the last torch delivering the flame was used as the key torch to hold the flame, which put rigorous requirements on the torch from a technical perspective.
Scientists had run numerous tests on the connection reliability and environmental suitability of the torch to ensure long-time combustion and connection with gas, electricity and signal control when it was plugged in to the cauldron.
The flame is also much smaller than previous versions as a manifestation of the idea of low carbon and sustainable development.
The spectacular Olympic rings also featured sci-tech achievements. Visually, they are carved out of the large "ice cube" with 24 laser beams. However, the Olympic rings are LED devices, which are powered by enough batteries that are be able to offer a stable power source even at temperatures as low as -20℃.
Continuing with the LED device theme, the surface of the main stage was covered with the largest LED screen (10552m2) ever made. The huge screen can perfectly display various special effects and add dimension by transforming into polyhedral convex screens.
At the opening ceremony there were many more sci-tech achievements used, without which the spectacle would have been much less exciting.
The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games will last until February 20, and China is ready to offer a splendid experience for all with many more sci-tech achievements.
Source: Science and Technology Daily