BEIJING — The last time Zhang Yimou directed an opening ceremony, he had 15,000 performers and a $100 million budget at his disposal. That kind of excess didn't seem right for an Olympics under the lingering shadow of COVID-19.
The famed filmmaker chose a more subdued approach Friday to lift the curtain on the Beijing Winter Games. Zhang still went heavy on the fireworks — it is Lunar New Year, after all — but scaled back the rest of the bombast. Restrained as it was, Zhang still managed a surprise ending at National Stadium.
The big reveal wasn't the cauldron itself. It was one of the athletes who lit it: cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang. Olympic organizers said Yilamujiang is of Uyghur Muslim heritage, a move meant to address critics who believe China's oppression of the Uyghurs should have disqualified it as an Olympic host.
