Accompanied by political boycotts and corona concerns, the 24th Olympic Winter Games in Beijing have begun.

Under the motto "One World, one Family" ("One World, One Family"), the Chinese hosts tried to present themselves as modern, cosmopolitan and peaceful, but also self-confident and unimpressed by the opening ceremony with a colorful and technically complex show in the Olympic Stadium to present criticism of human rights violations.

With the traditional formula "I declare the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing open", China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping gave the starting signal for the first World Winter Sports Festival in China on Friday at 21:51 local time.

After the Summer Games in 2008, Beijing is the first place in Olympic history to also host the Winter Games.

A total of just under 2,900 athletes from 91 nations will start in Beijing and in the mountains of Zhangjiakou and Yanqing, 200 kilometers away, by February 20th.

Medals are awarded in 109 competitions.

The Olympic Stadium, known as the bird's nest, was only half full at the ceremony at minus 5 degrees due to the corona pandemic.

Numerous high-ranking government officials, especially from the West, were also absent from the grandstand.

Countries like the USA, Great Britain, Canada and Australia are diplomatically boycotting the Winter Games.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) will not travel to China either, but neither the federal government nor Japan want to speak of a boycott.

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing and attended the opening.

Before the start of the Olympics, he had demonstrated great unity with China's President Xi on the Ukraine crisis and the growing tensions with the United States.

Bach does not respond to criticism

"In our fragile world, in which divisions, conflicts and distrust are constantly increasing, we are showing the world: Yes, it is possible to be bitter opponents and at the same time to live together peacefully and respectfully," said IOC boss Thomas Bach in his speech addressed to the participants.

He did not respond to criticism of the host.

Bach had repeatedly emphasized the neutrality of the International Olympic Committee beforehand, thereby avoiding clear statements on the persecution of the Uyghurs and Tibetans, the suppression of the democracy movement in Hong Kong or freedom of expression by China.

The performance in front of a worldwide TV audience was rich in references to spring, which is heralded with the still ongoing New Year's festival for the Year of the Tiger, also known as the Spring Festival.

In addition, the motif of the snowflake ran through the program, with the aim of symbolizing the diversity of people building a common global home.

When the nations moved in, the German team ran into the stadium as the 85th team of the 91 teams.

The delegation was led by five-time Olympic speed skating champion Claudia Pechstein and two-time Olympic bobsleigh champion Francesco Friedrich.

Around 75 members of the team were there, including around 20 athletes.

A total of 149 athletes have been nominated for the Beijing Games.

A few hours before the start of the opening ceremony, the German team felt again how much the topic of Corona determines the Winter Games.

According to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), the Nordic combined athletes Eric Frenzel and Terence Weber had to go into corona quarantine after positive tests.

Figure skater Nolan Seegert was the first German athlete to be hit on Wednesday.

China is also consistently implementing its zero-Covid policy at the spectacle on ice and snow.

Spectators from abroad are not permitted.

Athletes, coaches, officials or media representatives live isolated in a bubble and are tested daily.

In the run-up, reservations had also been raised that China could manipulate the results of the corona tests and thus possibly eliminate unwelcome competitors.

However, China is not yet a classic winter sports nation.

At the games in PyeongChang, the athletes of the huge country only took 16th place in the national rankings with nine medals.

However, the games should be the starting signal for China to become a leading winter sports power.

The winter sports industry is also hoping for a deal: According to Xi and Bach, there are said to be 300 million winter sports enthusiasts in China.