The 2022 Beijing Paralympic Winter Games - motto: Together for a shared future - was launched on Friday with a spectacular opening ceremony amid a backdrop of invasion, war and hoary images of nuclear armageddon.
As the para athletes from 46 countries made their tour of the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing, conflict in Ukraine was eclipsing their dazzle.
On the ninth day since Russian military units advanced into the country on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant nearly 600 kilometres south-east of the capital Kyiv.
In the assault on the installation, a fire broke out in a training building outside the power plant creating fears of explosions in the main reactors.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had put its Incident and Emergency Centre in full 24/7 response mode due to what it described as the serious situation at Zaporizhzhia.
Appeal
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, made a fresh appeal to Europe for help following the attack on the nuclear plant.
"We warn everyone that not a single nation ever shelled nuclear power stations. For the first time in the history of humankind, the terrorist state commits nuclear terrorism,” he said.
Quite how the 600-odd para athletes will hustle, compete and shine during such tensions will be one of the fascinating strands of the Games.
That number should have been nearly 700 but the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) - which organises the event - was forced to ban competitors from Russia and Belarus.
On Wednesday, Andrew Parsons, the IPC chief, said the Russians and Belarusians could compete under a neutral banner.
Disagreement
Several national paralympic committees - including France's - made clear their disagreement with that stance.
Others threatened to pull out of the Games altogether if the two delegations were allowed to stay.
On Thursday, the IPC excluded the teams. "The situation is monstrous, of course," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
"This is a disgrace for the International Paralympic Committee. We strongly condemn the International Paralympic Committee for this decision."
Rules
After the Russian news agency TASS reported that Russia was planning to challenge the IPC's decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Russian paralympic committee conceded defeat citing Article 2.9 of the IPC rules for the Games.
The clause gives the IPC the discretion to refuse any athlete entry, without indication of grounds.
"The Russian Paralympic Committee and its athletes do not consider it possible or expedient to stay in Beijing," it said on Friday.
"We are planning to leave the Winter Games capital, the city of wonderful people."
Four years ago in Pyeongchang in South Korea, Russian para athletes won 24 medals and they were set to field a 71-member team for the Games in Beijing while Belarus had 12 competitors.
Parsons made no mention of the ban during his speech to open the games.
"The 21st century is a time for dialogue and diplomacy, not war and hate," he said.
"At the IPC we aspire to a better and more inclusive world, free from discrimination, free from hate, free from ignorance and free from conflict.
"Here in Beijing, Paralympic athletes will compete with each other, not against each other.
"Through sport they will showcase the best of humanity and highlight the values that should underpin a peaceful and inclusive world."
Over the next nine days, para athletes will strive for medals in 78 disciplines in alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, Para ice hockey, snowboarding and wheelchair curling.
Zhang Yimou, who masterminded the opening ceremony, wanted the theatrics to highlight the theme "Blossoming of Life".
Typical Zhang. But a concept hard to grasp in the cold light of a war-torn day in Ukraine.
