Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony: Improve, Go Beyond, Together
The 13th Paralympic Winter Games is underway following a spectacular Opening Ceremony at the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing
The Paralympic cauldron has been lit to signal the start of the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
During a stunning opening ceremony in the heart of the Chinese capital, hundreds of athletes from around the world gathered to share in a festival of snow and ice as fireworks lit up the night sky.
After forming the shape and colours of the Paralympic Agitos, the pyrotechnic display then turned purple in a nod to WeThe15, a global campaign aimed at increasing the visibility, inclusion and accessibility of the world’s 1.2 billion people with disabilities.
These individuals account for 15% of the global population and following an appeal to the world to commit to change, impaired and unimpaired performers acted some of the precious moments of life side-by-side – from a girl with a visual impairment lighting a red lantern, to a family chasing their dreams and an elderly man dancing with a young boy.
These volunteers are from all walks of life and were seen coming together, supporting each other, with the expression of their emotions bringing warmth to the world despite the prevailing wind.
Athletes to watch
At 17, Jesse Keefe may be the youngest athlete on the USA team but he’s had years of experience in Alpine skiing already, winning his first race at just three years old. The speedster will be looking to upgrade his Kindercup to a Paralympic medal. From the newbie in the USA team to one of the most experienced, 10-time Paralympic medallist Oksana Masters heads to the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games six months after winning two gold medals in Para cycling at the Summer Games at Tokyo 2020, in 2021.
Menna Fitzpatrick is Great Britain’s most successful Winter Paralympian and is looking to add to her medal tally of one gold, two silvers and a bronze in Para alpine skiing. The British curlers, meanwhile, will be aiming to emulate their Olympic counterparts who won gold and silver in Beijing last month. Three-time Paralympian Gregor Ewan, who won bronze in wheelchair curling at Sochi 2014, and team-mate and Games debutant Meggan Dawson-Farrell were both flagbearers for the British team at the Opening Ceremony on Friday (4 March).
Three Para-alpine skiers will represent New Zealand at the Paralympic Winter Games, with Corey Peters and Aaron Ewen competing in the sitting category, and Adam Hall, the standing discipline. Hall, who received the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, given to two Paralympians who best embody the spirit of the Paralympic movement, is competing in his fifth Winter Paralympics and will be looking to add to his two gold medals and a bronze.
Australia’s Ben Tudhope was the youngest competitor at Sochi 2014, aged just 14. Two Games later and his snowboarding goal remains the same – to not only win his first medal but Paralympic gold, his mindset likely enhanced by his mentor, one former Australia rugby union captain Nick Farr-Jones.