Live: Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

Jul 02, 2023

Editor's note:

China.org.cn provides a live webcast and minute-by-minute coverage of the Nanjing Youth Olympic opening ceremony, which begins at 8:00pm, Saturday.

Stay tuned here for live coverage on this event.

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No need to reload page, content updates automatically every two minutes. All time is Beijing Time (GMT+0800).

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[22:01] Four singers, including South Korean actor Kim Soo Hyun, Chinese singers Jane Zhang, Zhang Jie and a Russian singer, sing the theme song for the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games. The theme song is entitled "Light the future."

[22:00] The audience seethes with excitement.

[21:58] She walks over to the armillary sphere.

[21:57] Chinese diver Chen Ruolin is the last one to relay the torch.

[21:56] The next one to relay the torch is Zhang Jike. Then is Tang Ying and Chen Ding.

[21:55] Chinese athlete Lin Dan marches to the stadium, holding the torch. He passes torch to a female Chinese short track speed skater Zhou Yang.

[21:49] Students from universities in Nanjing compose the majority of the staff in the opening ceremony.The performance consists of three chapters: "pursing dream," "building dream" and "realizing dream."[21:48] A giant armillary sphere, taken as a symbol for the pursuit of dream, ascends in the center.

[21:46] The Youth Olympic Games was first held in Singapore four years ago and lasted for 12 days. It was open to athletes aged from 15 to 18 years old. The second YOG, which starts from today (Aug. 16) in Nanjing, will feature about 3,787 athletes from around the world. The China delegation is the largest, with 120 athletes. In contrast to the Olympics, the YOG will feature four performance games, namely martial arts, rock climbing, roller skating and skateboarding.

[21:43] Five world's top musicians play Franz Liszt's Dreams of Love.

[21:33] A total of 120 acrobats perform to form the "Dream Tower."

[21:30] The youth holding the "armillary sphere" enters the stadium again.

[21:27] The center of the stadium looks like a red sea, as young dancers perform with red ribbons.

[21:23] A man acts as the famous navigator Zheng He, who commanded expeditionary voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. (More about Zheng He>>)

[21:20] Dancers, dressing up in foreign costumes, put up a performance themed the "Silk Road."

[21:19] Dancers, dressing up in exquisite silk, perform.

[21:16] The stadium casts rays over the floor to present the shape of bronze vessel, then change to the shape of blue and white porcelain.

[21:15] Dancers perform to demonstrate the making of bronze vessel while commentators talk about China's history of bronze vessel.

[21:13] According to Chen Weiya, director of the opening ceremony, the huge sphere and telescope express the idea of "allowing young people to see the world and see the future."

[21:11] A legion of actors perform Chinese shadowboxing.

[21:10] The performing youth ascends to a huge astronomical telescope installed in the stadium.

[21:09] A youth performs with a shining instrument shaped into the "armillary sphere."

[21:08] Chinese singer Lei Jia sings a song.

[21:05] Funny pic: IOC chief Thomas Bach takes selfies on the rostrum.

[21:03] Chinese coach Li Rongxiang takes vows on behalf of coaches.

[21:02] Chinese official Zou Qiurui takes vows on behalf of officials.

[21:00] Chinese athlete Fan Zhendong takes vows on behalf of athletes.

[20:58] The Olympic anthem is played.

[20:57] The flag of the Olympics, is escorted by eight famous Chinese athlets, including Ren Cancan, Wu Minxia ,Liu Xiang, Lei Sheng, Wu Jingyu, Wang Liqin, Zhang Xi and Qiu Jian, and passed over to young athlets.

[20:51] He said, the host nation China has made the stage to the athletes.He expresses appreciation to the host nation China and the host city Nanjing.

[20:50] IOC chief Thomas Bach delievers a speech. He says "hello, China" in Chinese and invites the audience to take selfies. [20:46] @Dadada Cui C:

I was really stupid and thought the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) was the Qingdao Olympics, because Youth and Qing are pronounced the same way in Chinese. I only started to realize I was wrong after I grew up. Now, watching the live broadcast of this spectacular event, the high-spirited audience at the scene has touched me so much. Good luck. I wish the YOG great success!

[20:44] Li Xueyong,chairman of the committee of the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games addresses the ceremony.

[20:43] At this Games, only flagbearers parade through the stadium while athletes watch the ceremony on the stand.

[20:42] Dilixiati Dilana, a member of China's under-18 women's basketball team, is the flagbearer.

[20:28] China ranked atop the gold medal list as well as the overall medals list at the Games in Singapore, with 30 gold medals and 51 medals overall.

[20:25] Organizer: Hosting the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing is about spending less, benefiting local residents more!

[20:20] A total of 4000 people participate in the opening ceremony performance, 1/3 of the Beijing Olympics.

[20:05] The audience stand up as the Chinese national anthem is played.

[20:01] Soldiers escort Chinese national flag to the stadium.

[19:58] The rain hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of the audience.

[19:45] Kim Soo Hyun, along with Chinese singers Jane Zhang, Zhang Jie and a Russian singer, will sing the theme song for the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games at the opening ceremony Saturday evening. (Read more)

[19:39] Warm-up performance is underway in the stadium.

[19:30] Famous Chinese diver Chen Ruolin will light the flame at Youth Olympic Games 2014 on Saturday night.

[19:25] The IOC chief said:

The city has become more open, and the warm welcome in the city is overwhelming. The athletes and I really feel at home here in Nanjing."

[19:10] According to Chen, the Nanjing YOG opening ceremony will feature a huge sphere and a telescope, to express the idea of "allowing young people to see the world and see the future."

In an exclusive interview with China.org.cn, Chen said:

The YOG is aimed at young people across the world, so it requires a different customized opening ceremony."

[10:20] Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony. And at the invitation of President Xi, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza, President of Fiji Epeli Nailatikau, President of Maldives Abdulla Yameen, President of Montenegro Filip Vujanovic, President of Singapore Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister of Vanuatu Joe Natuman will also attend the opening ceremony.

[10:12] The Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games encompass 28 sports.

Rugby will make its return to the Olympic program after 92 years in Nanjing in the form of rugby sevens ahead of its reappearance at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.

[10:10] Here we’d like to share with you some of the famous places in the city. And you will certainly love this city. See our rankings of Top 10 attractions in Nanjing.

[10:00] Now, let's take a look at the host city, Nanjing.

Nanjing, having been called Jinling in ancient times, is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, together with Beijing, Xi’an and Luoyang.

[9:40] The official theme song of the 2014 YOG – "Dreams Never End" was released on June 27, 2014. The song was chosen from a competition that went on for six months and involved more than 5,000 participants. Click here to listen.

[9:20] Čička said:

I was inspired by the athletes’ track which, to me, means the base of the Youth Olympic Games. So I put it into my concept and used different shapes to represent the winning athletes and the podium. And finally I called it The Track of Winners."

The judging panel comprised of world-renowned designer, Thomas Heatherwick, the man behind the iconic Olympic cauldron at the London 2012 Olympic Games; Youth Olympic Games 400m hurdles gold medalist Aurelie Chaboudez (FRA); Olympic short-track speed skating champion Yang Yang (CHN); Youth Olympic Games Ambassador Yelena Isinbaeva (RUS); Olympic fencer and IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair Claudia Bokel (GER); and IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli.

The panel also selected two runner-up designs. They were ‘A Hug From Lele!’ by Hugo Fernandez, 29, from Spain; and ‘Stripes of Victory’ by Csaba Szitas, 28, from Slovakia.

[9:10] The medal for Nanjing 2014 is designed by Matej Čička, a 23-year-old young sports fan from Slovakia.

The winning entry, "Track of Winners", was chosen from a pool of over 300 entries from over 50 countries by a prestigious IOC jury who described it as "modern, fresh and dynamic" when they were brought together from around the globe to pick the winner.

See more photos of the Medals here.

[8:55] Nanjinglele was inspired by the Rain Flower Pebble which can be found naturally in all shapes and sizes, reflecting the beauty of nature and bringing us closer to nature.

Recognised as a decorative pebble since ancient times, the Rain Flower Pebble has been praised by the Chinese as a "national treasure bestowed from heaven". The selection of the Rain Flower Pebble as the Nanjing 2014 mascot illustrates to the world, the unique charms of Nanjing as a modern, green city that embraces nature and sustainable development. These values correspond with the key values of Nanjing 2014 which advocates a natural and healthy lifestyle among global youth.

[8:45] In the name of the Nanjing 2014 Mascot, "Lele" literally means happiness in Mandarin and also refers to the sound of stones banging. In ancient times, people frequently banged stones as a form of entertainment when they quarried or built roads. Hence other than joy and happiness, the word "le" also signifies a pioneering spirit.

The slogan for the First Youth Olympic Games in Singapore was ‘Blazing the Trail’, whereas "Lele" signifies how youth forges ahead courageously in their exploration of the Youth Olympic Movement at Nanjing 2014, creating a "Nanjing model" of the YOG and ultimately bringing together, youths from around the world to this very special place that is Nanjing.

[8:30] On 10 February 2010, the 122nd IOC session at Vancouver announced Nanjing as the host city for the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games.

The slogan of the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games is "Share the Games, Share our Dreams".

[8:10] Just like the Olympic Games, the Youth Olympic Games are held every four years. The first summer edition was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010, and the first winter edition was held in Innsbruck, Austria, from 13 to 22 January 2012.

The 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held in Nanjing and the 2nd Winter Youth Olympic Games will be held in Lillehammer, Norway, in February 2016. The 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held in Buenos Aires in Argentina in 2018.

[8:06] The Youth Olympic Games aim to bring together talented young athletes aged from 15 to 18 from around the world (205 National Olympic Committees participated in Singapore 2010 and 69 in Innsbruck 2012).

The Summer Youth Olympic Games feature over 3,500 athletes and are held over a 12-day period, while the Winter Youth Olympic Games feature over 1,100 athletes and last 10 days.

Non-athlete participants, namely the Young Reporters, Ambassadors and Athlete Role Models, are also an integral part of the Youth Olympic Games experience.

[8:02] The Youth Olympic Games are an elite sporting event for young people from all over the world. An event distinct from other youth sports events, as they also integrate a unique Culture and Education Programme (CEP), based around five main themes: Olympism, Social Responsibility, Skills Development, Expression and Well-being and Healthy Lifestyles.

The sports programme is based on that of the Olympic Games, with 28 sports featured on the summer programme and seven on the winter programme. In addition, the programme also includes exciting new disciplines and formats, such as 3-on-3 basketball, ice hockey skills challenge and mixed gender and mixed National Olympic Committee (NOC) events.

Away from the field of play and through a variety of fun and interactive activities, workshops and team-building exercises, the CEP gives the participating athletes the opportunity to learn about the Olympic values, explore other cultures and develop the skills to become true ambassadors of their sport.

[8:00] The second Summer Youth Olympic Games will run from August 16-28 in Nanjing, East China.