Cypriot sports fans warm to Winter Games

Beijing 2022 is proving an unlikely hit on the warm Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Interest in winter sports is usually low in the country, which only records a small amount of snowfall on its highest mountain peaks from December to March.

However, Cypriots have been glued to their TVs to watch the spectacular snow and ice events at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

"We make a point of regularly watching the Winter Olympic events as a family, either live or the replays because of the time difference. There are some spectacular and artistic events, like dancing or skating on ice, which my kids love," Anna Petrou, a young secretary and mother-of-two, told Xinhua.

Cyprus is represented at Beijing 2022 by just one athlete, 25-year-old Alpine skier Yianno Kouyoumdjian, who is competing in the men's giant slalom.

Yiotis Ioannides, the Cypriot team leader, said that the athlete was in top shape and prepared for difficult races ahead of him after three training sessions on courses similar to the one in Yanqing.

Ioannides also commented on the opening ceremony, calling it "a life experience".

"The moment when the Olympic Anthem was sung in Greek by a choir of 44 children will be unforgettable and fill us with pride," he told Cypriot media.

Beyond the livestreaming of the Olympic Games for the first time ever by state CyBC television, Cypriot TV stations have been broadcasting almost daily coverage of the events, starting with the opening ceremony.

"Multi-award-winning Chinese director Zhang Yimou, with the participation of 3,000 volunteers from the regions of China where the Games will take place, created an emblematic opening ceremony in which snowflakes, which symbolize solidarity and prosperity, took the leading role," said CyBC presenter Antri Kassapi.

Her comments were echoed in the headlines of several newspapers and websites, which lavished praise on the opening ceremony.

Cypriot media also highlighted the fact that the snow and ice necessary for the Winter Olympics are man-made and are a testament to Chinese innovation.

The Cypriot Olympic mission chief shared first-hand experience of the artificial snow on Yanqing's slopes, describing it as creating "unprecedented and impressive conditions".

XINHUA