Photos: Spectacle endures at Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing

Fireworks light up the sky over Beijing's "Bird's Nest" National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 4, 2022.

Flagbearers Elana Meyers Taylor and John Shuster lead the U.S. team during the Parade of Nations.

Flag bearers Francesca Baruzzi Farriol and Franco Dal Farra of Team Argentina.

Valtteri Filppula leads team Finland.

Performers dressed as hockey players.

Members of Team Great Britain.

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves to the crowd.

Leaders of the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada, among others, have imposed a diplomatic boycott on these Games, shunning appearances alongside Chinese leadership while allowing their athletes to compete.

Performers during the opening ceremony.

The Russian Olympic Committee contingent. The Russian athletes will be competing under the altered moniker and flag because of a decision reached by international officials in 2017 that found the country had engaged in a state-sponsored doping program, providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.

The Chinese flag is raised inside the stadium.

Nathan Crumpton of American Samoa carries his team's flag.

China aims to impress billions around the world with these Games, and perhaps momentarily transcend the politically charged atmosphere and strict Covid-19 restrictions that have characterized the runup to the competition.

The crowd was limited due to Covid restrictions.

The Winter Olympics are far smaller than the summer edition, with about 90 countries attending the Beijing Games, compared with more than 200 that sent athletes to Tokyo last year.

Three thousand performers took to a stage comprised of 11,600 square meters of high-definition LED screens.

Members of Team Canada.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the opening ceremony. Because of the pandemic, the dignitaries visiting for the Olympics were the first to make official trips to Beijing in more than two years. Putin is in Beijing in a show of unity with China amid Moscow's standoff with the West over Ukraine.

Zbigniew Brodka and Aleksandra Krol of Poland carry their country's flag.

All of the performers were ordinary people from Beijing and nearby Hebei province, with "the Story of a Snowflake" its central thread.

The Olympic torch is lit. One of the final torchbearers was a member of the Uyghur ethnic minority, whose treatment by the Chinese government is at the center of a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the Games.

Held on the first day of Spring by the Chinese calendar, it began with a performance by dancers waving glowing green stalks to convey the vitality of the season.

Competition in some events started Wednesday and Saturday is the first full day of events at the games, with the first medals to be awarded.

Flag bearer Vladimir Litvinstev of Team Azerbaijan.

Beijing is the first city to host both winter and summer Games.

Spectators wave Chinese flags during an event at an Olympics Live Site.

Read full story: Beijing's Winter Olympics begin with pared back, visually stunning opening ceremony