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Zhang Yimou was behind the 2008 show for the Summer Games.

This time around he has promised a "totally innovative" ceremony but stressed that the pandemic and freezing weather has placed limits on its scale.

So instead of 15,000 performers featuring opera singers, acrobats and drummers from last time, we'll be at around 3,000 performers and themes will include environmental protection and low carbon emission.

That said some experts have challenged the idea of this being a 'green Games' because they are taking place in one of the driest places in China and on almost entirely man-made snow.

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Some fans will be present at the opening ceremony but it is unclear how many and, like the events at the Games, tickets were not sold to the general public because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are among those in the audience mind and will be treated to a show masterminded by Chinese film director Zhang Yimou.

Sonia Oxley
BBC Sport in Beijing

Some last-minute preparations were underway a few hours before the ceremony - it looks like a giant ice rink.

Image source, BBC Sport

The International Olympic Committee has been heavily criticised for awarding the Olympics to China because of the country's human rights record.

The Beijing government is accused of committing atrocities against the Uyghur Muslim population in the northwest province of Xinjiang. China has denied these accusations.

There has also been widespread concern over the safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai after she made accusations of sexual assault against a top government official.

Read more about the ongoing situation in China and why these Games are controversial.

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Beijing 2022 is the second Olympics to take place during the pandemic after the Games in Tokyo last summer.

Just like in Japan, there will be no paying spectators, friends or family present in the stands.

All Games participants, from athletes to volunteers to the media, undergo daily PCR tests and are enclosed in a strict closed-loop system in which movement is limited for the entirety of the Olympics.

Face masks are mandatory at all times, except for during competition and training, when eating and drinking, or alone in rooms.

There are 109 gold medals on offer in Beijing, with almost 3,000 athletes going head-to-head for some hardware.

Team GB are aiming for between three to seven medals at this year's Games.

BBC Sport casts an eye over who are the medal hopes in this year's even.

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With 91 nations competing in Beijing, there's a whole heap of stars looking to make the headlines.

You can swot up on who to watch over here.

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Beijing 2022.

You ready?

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Image source, Getty Images