Exclusive interview with Zhang Yimou on the PyeongChang closing ceremony

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After two weeks of competition, the curtains will come down on the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday night, with a closing ceremony that will include Beijing’s eight-minute handover show.

“Our performers have been preparing for the show for two months. It has been around one year since I took the task,” the genius behind the ceremony – world famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou - told CGTN. “Four months ago, I had a complete design for the artistic performance."

The director and his team of performers arrived in PyeongChang last week to make the final preparations. The director said human and artificial intelligence interaction is something the audience can expect.

Chinese director at a press conference at 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Feb. 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

“Beautiful colors and Chinese cultural characteristics can be expected during those eight minutes. But those elements will provide a new feeling and will be showcased in a different way from what the public might have expected. It’s unique to combine the artificial intelligence into the performance.”

For the director and his team, to make a show that’s understood by different nations and has no language barrier is a priority.

“No matter how good a performance is, it needs to be understood by the public. First of all, you can understand our whole performance even without the help of language. This is also the part that I dedicated the most time to,” he said during an interview with CGTN.