'Unique' opening ceremony to raise curtain on Games

Director Zhang Yimou says show has plenty of surprises in store

The chief director of Beijing 2022's opening ceremony has told fans to expect a unique experience - including a "groundbreaking" cauldron lighting method - at the Bird's Nest stadium on Friday.

Zhang Yimou also directed the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Games, making the 71-year-old the first person to direct both the Summer and Winter Olympics ceremonies as Beijing makes history as the first city to host both editions.

"It's a great honor to direct the opening ceremony for the second time," Zhang said. "I hope to make a good impression and create some wonderful moments that will go down in history."

A renowned Chinese filmmaker, Zhang has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for best foreign language film.

The scintillating opening ceremony of the 2008 Games added to his prestige. He also masterminded Beijing's eight-minute handover performances at Athens 2004 and Pyeongchang 2018.

Zhang said he never thought of taking the easy option and merely repeating the highly rated 2008 masterpiece.

"I think a lot of classics cannot be duplicated," he said. "They happen only once. Of course, we know that we cannot repeat Beijing 2008, so we are striving to be different from it."

Besides incorporating characteristics of the Winter Olympics and winter sports in the opening ceremony, Zhang said the theme will not be the same as the 2008 show.

"In 2008, the Olympics were a brilliant stage and a chance for our country to show ourselves," he said. "In fact, there are plenty of pages across our 5,000-year history that we would like to present to the world-our civilization, our history and how we got to where we are today.

"It's different now. China's status in the world, the image of the Chinese and the rise of our national status-everything is totally different now.

"In the wake of the pandemic, the world needs a new and strengthened vision, and that is people of the world coming together to face difficulties and looking forward to a bright future."

That is reflected in a change to the Olympic motto, with "Together" added to "Faster, Higher, Stronger".

Zhang said he is determined to present a "different and unique" opening for the 2022 Games. "The era is different, and so is the public's perspective," he said.