The Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games officially kicked off on Friday at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest.

Running March 4-13, world Para athletes will compete in 78 events across six sports – 39 for men, 35 for women and four mixed events.

These events will be staged at six venues in the three competition zones of Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.

The delegations of Israel, Azerbaijan and Puerto Rico will make their Winter Paralympics debut at this edition of the Games.