As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's winter culture and modern history.

[1] The Games were officially opened by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and president of the People's Republic of China.

[12] The ceremony began with a 24-second countdown, which represented the 24th Winter Olympics as well as the 24 solar terms in the Chinese calendar,[13] where Lichun (ecliptic longitude 315°), Feb 4, is generally regarded as the "Beginning of spring".

[10] After the countdown, dancers carried tall and flexible glowing green stalks, showing the lifecycle of the dandelion, which eventually turned white and floated up into the sky as the seeds dispersed,[14] followed by fireworks displaying the words "立春" (lìchūn, lit.

Twelve children lifted the national flag of China and entered the stadium, symbolizing the legacy of Beijing 2008 opening ceremony.

[15] The Olympic Rings performance began with the giant LED screens showing a drop of ink that had fallen from the sky, turning into seething, rolling waves of the Yellow River, from which an ice cube crystallizes.

24 "laser beams" sequentially "carve" the names of cities and countries of 23 previous Winter Olympics in Chinese and English on this cube.

[21] Background music used during the parade of nations: Cai Qi, President of the Beijing 2022 organizing committee delivered a speech to thank and welcome the athletes, offering words of peace and unity.

[21] IOC President Thomas Bach then gave his speech in which he thanked China for being gracious hosts and also extended gratitude to those on the doctors and nurses combating the global COVID-19 pandemic.

[15] The performance began by a group of young people consisted of local and foreign university students, walking on the stage with the Chinese song "Let the World be Filled with Love" (让世界充满爱, Ràng shìjiè chōngmǎn ài) sung in the background.

After they walked past the stage, the slogan "Together for a shared future" (一起向未来, Yīqǐ xiàng wèilái) in both English and Chinese appeared.

[24][18][22][15] Cross-country skier Wang Qiang and snowboard halfpipe athlete Liu Jiayu represented the athletes sworn the Olympic oath, while aerials judge Tao Yongchun and head of the Chinese coaching team in snowboard parallel giant slalom Ji Xiao'ou represented judges and coaches, respectively.

"We promise to take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of fair play, inclusion and quality.

"After the Olympic vows, a short film "Champions of Tomorrow" was shown on the screen of the stadium, showing toddlers taking their first steps in winter sports, set to the rendition of Chinese nursery rhyme Two Tigers.

[15] In the performance, hundreds of children wandered around the center stage singing the theme song of the ceremony titled “Snowflake”.

Director Zhang Yimou stated that the tiny flame symbolised environmental sustainability and set the standards for a "carbon-neutral" game.

Later that day, Taiwan announced that their Olympic team would not attend the opening and closing ceremonies in Beijing, formally due to anti-COVID-19 rules and delayed flights.

[70] (The IOC had already suspended North Korea for not sending a team to the Tokyo Summer Games in violation of the Olympic Charter.)