A month ago, the idea of the twenty-four solar terms countdown at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games amazed the world; a month later, how will the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympic Games open?
Curling in, the show begins!
"Of the four ceremonies of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Paralympic Games, only this countdown uses sports to show sports." Shen Chen, director of the opening ceremony, introduced that this idea has been planned and considered for a long time.
At present, the countdown performance lasts about 4 minutes and is divided into three parts: first, the history of the Winter Paralympic Games is lit up, from the 1976 Winter Paralympic Games in Önchholzvik; then, the paralegal skiers slide down the "pistes" behind the Bird's Nest field to bring the six major events of the Winter Paralympic Games; finally, two wheelchair curlers grip the putters. When the flashing curling breaks through the silence and begins to slide, the 10-second countdown starts.
"In the past countdown, the pace was getting faster and faster." Shen Chen said that the main creative team hopes that this countdown will bring new expectations to everyone. After the introduction of curling, 10, 9, 8, 7... In a tense countdown, curling slides toward the camp.
However, this is also a performance that makes Shen Chen quite distressed, "It is not a video interpretation, and the curling you see is not really curling, it is a special robot, it must be tightly bitten with the athlete's movements, and it must be able to enter the camp, and there can be no deviation in technology."
Since it is very difficult to achieve, why should we keep wheelchair curling? "Wheelchair curling is the pride of Chinese." Shen Chen said. At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Paralympic Games, the Chinese wheelchair curling team won the championship, achieving a breakthrough of zero gold medals for the Chinese delegation to the Winter Paralympic Games, so the idea of wheelchair curling was incorporated into the countdown very early.
Later, according to the feedback of the International Paralympic Committee, the director team added 6 major demonstrations to show the unity and equality of sports, "but we still want to ensure the emergence of wheelchair curling." Shen Chen explained that sliding forward curling also represents disabled people breaking barriers, crossing all obstacles, and finally reaching the top, "I think it will definitely impress everyone." From the traditional culture represented by the twenty-four solar terms at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games to the sportsmanship at the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympic Games, the core coincides. ”
The five-star red flag is rising
They sign language "singing"
At the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympic Games, with the loud sound of the national anthem, the five-star red flag was raised.
In the sign language phalanx on the side of the stage, Tai Lihua, a dance artist and head of the China Disabled Arts Troupe, led the disabled actors to "sing" the national anthem in sign language affectionately, bringing people a shock to their hearts.
Tai Lihua introduced before the performance, "I brought students from Beijing Union University, actors from the China Disabled People's Art Troupe, and actors from the Zhejiang and Shandong Disabled Art Troupes to sing the national anthem in sign language at the ceremony where the national flag was raised. Tai Lihua remembers that during the fourth rehearsal, a deaf actor watched the national flag rise, "tears brushed out of the eyes, we deaf people also want to sing the national anthem, we are all proud from the heart." ”
It is understood that the sign language used in the singing of the national anthem is the national common sign language that was just promulgated last year. In the past, sign language playing in different regions and regions was different, just as there were dialects of Chinese in different places, and deaf friends in different places could not communicate completely freely. "This time we are using the national unified standard version of sign language, neat and uniform, we want to express the most beautiful and affectionate wishes to the motherland." Tai Lihua said, "I believe that when I sing the national anthem in sign language, my deaf friends in front of the TV will also sing with me." ”
The members of the blind choir team of Beijing Union University participated in the performance together, "they expressed their call to the world in the form of singing, we sang in sign language, and the disabled people felt the raising of the national flag in different ways." Tai Lihua said.
Tai Lihua and her Chinese Paralympic Art Troupe have been associated with the Olympic Games very early, from the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Paralympic Games, she and the members have performed on stage, Tai Lihua herself was the torchbearer of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. At the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Torch Relay City Fire Collection Ceremony a few days ago, Tai Lihua also held a fire stick to collect and ignite the "Summer Olympic Fire". "In the case of the global epidemic, if the country can hold the Winter Paralympic Games in such a posture and let our disabled groups sing the national anthem at our doorstep, we will definitely use our own way to convey friendship and peace."
Source Beijing Daily client reporter Gao Qian Han Xuan
Producer: Liu Hao
Editor: Zhang Xiaoying
Process Editor Wu Yue