Beijing: The most divided Olympic Games in decades gets under way in China on Friday as Beijing becomes the only city to host both the Summer and now the Winter Games. As well as tight Covid-19 controls, the Games are fraught with political tensions over allegations of human rights abuses and boycotts.
It all officially starts with Friday’s opening ceremony, which will take place beginning at 7 a.m. ET at Beijing’s National Stadium and include speeches, performances, artistic spectacles and a lengthy-but-spirited parade featuring athletes from every participating country.
NBCUniversal, which has a lock on Olympics coverage, will be broadcasting the opening ceremony on NBC and Peacock beginning at 6:30 a.m. ET (keep in mind, Beijing is 13 hours ahead of ET).
It will also offer an “enhanced primetime presentation” of the ceremony, with a special focus on Team USA, from 8 to 11 p.m. ET.
The closing ceremony is set for Feb. 20. And, before you know it, it’ll be time for the Winter Paralympics to kick off on March 4.
