“Warmer, more relaxed and simpler than 2008″: Zhang Yimou reflects on his second opening ceremony in the same host city

Fourteen years later, Beijing was still Beijing, but the opening ceremony of the Games was something else: warmer, more relaxed, simpler.

The 2022 Winter Olympics were officially declared open on Friday during a spectacle directed by prominent Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Zhang became the first person to direct two Olympic opening ceremonies in the same host city, reprising the role he held during Beijing 2008.

In an interview with Xinhua in early January, Zhang stated, “It’s a great honor to direct the opening ceremony for the second time.” He added, “I hope to make a good impression and create some wonderful moments that will go down in history.”

His ceremony has certainly caused a buzz in the hours since it’s termination. It wasn’t the same grandiose and overwhelming ceremony he produced in 2008, but it was still revolutionary in its own right. From visions of spring, to multi-language fireworks, to an unusual cauldron; Yimou appeared to deliver on his earlier promise to “start from zero” and deliver a “different and unique” ceremony.

According to Zhang, his second opening ceremony was “warmer, more relaxed, and simpler” than the first opening ceremony he directed in 2008. He spoke at a press briefing, stating, “the biggest difficulty I encountered was in terms of creativity.”

“We wanted it to be different from 2008 with innovations. The creative work for more than two years has been going on, focused on that,” said Zhang. He added that the pandemic had complicated preparations for the opening ceremony, but that ultimately his team overcame those difficulties.

While he stated his main intention was to focus the ceremony on innovation, Zhang added that he also wanted to place the focus on the athletes. His goal was to give them maximum attention, as, in his words, “we are all here to serve the athletes.”

When the prominent filmmaker, director of three Academy Award nominated films, was asked to put a score on his opening ceremony, he responded, “as a creator, I am very strict to my work. I won’t give a high score to my work, but I would like to give a high score to my team, to all the cast. I’d like to give them a hundred points.”

He added, “I am a director; behind me there are so many people making invisible efforts. Because of their contribution, we can present such a beautiful opening ceremony to the whole world.”

Zhang and his creative team will also be responsible for creating the closing ceremony for Beijing 2022. He wouldn’t give up too much information at the press briefing following the opening ceremony, but he commented that the transition process had already begun, and that he wanted to showcase China’s hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics, capturing the “moment” of a dual Olympic host city.

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