Viewers around the world will be watching on curiously when the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics take place to mark the official start of the Beijing Games 2022 on Friday.
Here's what we know – and what its director has revealed – about the dramatic launch of more than two weeks of highly-anticipated sporting action.
Where will the Winter Olympics opening ceremony take place?
How will the Olympic Torch reach the Beijing Games opening ceremony?
“I have carried the Olympic flame as a representative of the first generation of Chinese winter sports athletes," said Luo, addin: "My dream comes true."
Who has created the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics?
"In the wake of the pandemic, the world needs a new and strengthened vision," Zhang told the Xinhua News Agency. "Everything is totally different now – China’s status, the image of China in the world and the rise of our national status. "The burden is very heavy. Of course we know we cannot repeat Beijing 2008, so we are striving to be different from it."
What can we expect from the Winter Olympics opening ceremony performance?
Zhang is keeping tight-lipped about the details of the ceremony, although he admits to being nervous about a show which will feature only a fifth as many performers as the 15,000 who took part in 2008.
The chief director has said that the flame will be lit in a style "unprecedented" in Olympic history and suggested that environmental topics and low carbon emissions have featured in his planning.
"This time, the way of lighting will certainly be different," Zhang revealed, claiming that his cauldron design and lighting will be bold.
Who is going to attend the Winter Games opening ceremony?
Chinese president Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, and Cai Qi, the party secretary of Beijing and the Executive President of Beijing 2022, will be particularly keen for the ceremony to dazzle the world.
Both will be at the ceremony along with a list of international leaders that is expected to include Russian president Vladimir Putin, Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic and Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
International Olympic Committee boss Thomas Bach is certain to be in the Bird's Nest, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, is said to be attending.
