Thread by @AFP

#BREAKING Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony begins

#UPDATE The opening ceremony of the Beijing #WinterOlympics2022 began on Friday as China attempted to turn the page on a troubled build-up overshadowed by human rights concerns and Covid

VIDEO: 🇨🇳 Beijing 2022: Fireworks mark start of the #WinterOlympics2022 opening ceremony in China's capital #AFPSports

#BREAKING Chinese president Xi Jinping declares the Beijing Winter Olympics open #AFPSports

#UPDATE Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Beijing #WinterOlympics2022 open on Friday as the country tried to turn the page on a build-up overshadowed by human rights concerns, Covid and a US-led diplomatic boycott u.afp.com/wY4w #AFPSports

#UPDATE In freezing temperatures and amid tight Covid restrictions, Beijing on Friday tried its best to celebrate the start of a #WinterOlympics2022 chilled by the pandemic, frosty relations with the West and a dose of been-there-done-that indifference u.afp.com/wYoe

#UPDATE China chose a cross-country skier born in the troubled Xinjiang region to be a joint final torchbearer at the climax of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony

u.afp.com/wYJG