Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Friday

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Friday.

Sheikh Mohamed was invited to the event by China’s President Xi Jinping.

“I was honored to attend the spectacular opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing,” he said in a tweet.

“I wish the organizer’s and competitors every success for the Games, which embody the power of sport to promote understanding and friendship among the people of the world.”

BEIJING, CHINA – FEBRUARY 04: Performers create a flower display with LED lights during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on February 04, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The National Stadium — also known as the Bird’s Nest Stadium — was the venue for the celebrations, which were scaled down due to Covid-19 safety measures.

China marked the beginning of the Year of the Tiger in style at the grand show.

The placard bearers for all 91 countries in the parade of nations wore a unique tiger-head hat and a children’s choir was outfitted in traditional shoes featuring tigers that were made in the northern Hebei province.

Sheikh Mohamed led a UAE delegation that included Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority, and Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, the UAE’s ambassador to China.

Sheikh Mohamed expressed his delight at attending the event and wished success to all participants in the 24th Winter Olympics.