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The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
, China, and surrounding areas with competition in selected events beginning 2 February 2022. It was the 24th edition of the Winter Olympic Games. Beijing was selected as host city in 2015 at the 128th IOC Session in
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
, Malaysia, marking its second time hosting the Olympics, and the last of three consecutive Olympics hosted in
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
following the
2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , wint ...
in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, and the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
in Tokyo, Japan. Having previously hosted the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
, Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The venues for the Games were concentrated upon Beijing, its suburb Yanqing District, and Zhangjiakou, with some events (including the ceremonies and curling) repurposing venues originally built for Beijing 2008 (such as Beijing National Stadium and the
Beijing National Aquatics Centre The National Aquatics Centre (), and colloquially known as the Water Cube () and the Ice Cube (), is an aquatics center at the Olympic Green in Beijing, China. The facility was originally constructed to host the aquatics competitions at the ...
). The Games featured a record 109 events across 15 disciplines, with big air freestyle skiing and women's monobob making their Olympic debuts as medal events, as well as several new mixed competitions. A total of 2,871 athletes representing 91 teams competed in the Games, with
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
making their Winter Olympic debut. Beijing's hosting of the Games was subject to various concerns and controversies including those related to human rights violations in China, such as the Uyghur genocide, which led to calls for a boycott of the games. Like the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
held six months earlier in Tokyo, the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
resulted in the implementation of health and safety protocols, and, for the second Games in a row, the Games being closed to the public (with selected events open to invited guests at a reduced capacity).
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
finished at the top of the medal table for the second successive Winter Olympics, winning a total of 37 medals, of which 16 were gold, setting a new record for the largest number of gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics. The host nation
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
finished third with nine gold medals and also eleventh place by total medals won, marking its most successful performance in Winter Olympics history.


Bidding process

The bidding calendar was announced by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) in October 2012, with the application deadline set for 14 November 2013. The IOC Executive Board reviewed the bids from all applicant cities on 7 July 2014 and selected three cities,
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
(Norway),
Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...
(Kazakhstan), and
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
(China), as the final candidates. Several cities withdrew their bids during the process, citing the high costs or the lack of local support and funding for hosting the Games. The Oslo bid, considered the clear frontrunner, was canceled in the wake of a series of revelations about the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
's (IOC) demands for luxury treatment of IOC members that strongly turned public opinion and the parliamentary majority against the bid. The city withdrew its application for government funding after a majority of the Norwegian parliament had stated their intention to decline the application. In the days before the decision Norwegian media had revealed the IOC's "diva-like demands for luxury treatment" for the IOC members themselves, such as special lanes on all roads only to be used by IOC members and cocktail reception at the Royal Palace with drinks paid for by the royal family. The IOC also "demanded control over all advertising space throughout Oslo" to be used exclusively by IOC's sponsors, something that is not possible in Norway because the government doesn't own or control "all advertising space throughout Oslo" and has no authority to give a foreign private organization exclusive use of a city and the private property within it. Several commentators pointed out that such demands were unheard of in a western democracy; '' Slate'' described the IOC as a "notoriously ridiculous organization run by grifters and hereditary aristocrats." Ole Berget, deputy minister in the Finance Ministry, said "the IOC's arrogance was an argument held high by a lot of people." The country's largest newspaper commented that "Norway is a rich country, but we don't want to spend money on wrong things, like satisfying the crazy demands from IOC apparatchiks. These insane demands that they should be treated like the king of Saudi Arabia just won't fly with the Norwegian public." Beijing was selected as the host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics after beating Almaty by four votes on 31 July 2015 at the 128th IOC Session in
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
, Malaysia.


Development and preparation


Venues

In February 2021, Beijing announced that the 26 venues (including training venues) for these sports would be running on entirely renewable energy. There are three different clusters of venues designed and constructed for the 2022 Winter Olympics, each respectively known as the Beijing Zone, the Zhangjiakou Zone, and the Yanging Zone.


Beijing Zone

Venues in The Beijing Zone exist in different conditions; some were recently constructed exclusively for the 2022 games, while the rest were renovated from the 2008 Summer Olympics or other existing sites. The Beijing Zone of the 2022 Winter Olympics consisted of six competition venues and was where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, both the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, took place. Five ice events were held at the
Olympic Green The Olympic Green () is an Olympic Park in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Since then, the streets around the park have been used for an exhibition street race of the FIA GT1 World Championship in 2 ...
, the Capital Indoor Stadium and the Beijing Wukesong Sports Center, which were some of the main venues of the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
. The Big Air snowboarding and freestyle skiing events were held in a former industrial area in
Shijingshan District Shijingshan District () is an urban district of the municipality of Beijing. It lies to the west of the urban core of Beijing, and is part of the Western Hills area, bordering the districts of Haidian to the northeast and east, Fengtai to the so ...
, at Western Hills area. Since the end of 2009, the
Beijing Olympic Village The Beijing Olympic Village () is a complex of high-rise apartments in Beijing, China, which were opened to the public on July 27, 2008 and closed on August 27, 2008, in conjunction with the 2008 Summer Olympics. As an Olympic Village, it host ...
apartments on the Olympic Green have been transformed into a residential area. Therefore, there was a need to build another Olympic Village on a smaller scale for the Winter Olympics. These new buildings are located in the southern area of Olympic Green on the neighbour area of the National Olympic Sports Center. The Beijing National Stadium was an iconic venue in the Beijing Zone, and it is also known as the Bird's Nest (鸟巢; ''Niǎocháo''). The Beijing National Stadium was the site that hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but it was no longer a venue for any competition in 2022. The National Aquatics Center (国家游泳中心 Guójiā Yóuyǒng Zhōngxīn /gwor-jyaa yoh-yong jong-sshin/), also known as the Water Cube, was the venue for
Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...
competition. In the 2022 Winter Olympics, the National Aquatics Center became the first Olympic venue to incorporate a curling track in the swimming pool. The Shougang Big Air (首钢滑雪大跳台中心 Shǒugāng Huáxuě Dàtiàotái Zhōngxīn /shoh-gung hwaa-sshwair daa-tyao-teye jong-sshin/) was a newly constructed site for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Shougang Big Air hosted the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events. The Wukesong Sports Centre (五棵松体育馆 Wǔkēsōng Tǐyùguǎn /woo-ker-song tee-yoo-gwan/) was under an 8-months renovation for the 2022 Winter Olympics. In February 2022, the Wukesong Sports Centre hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics Men's and Women's
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
tournaments. The National Indoor Stadium (国家体育馆 Guójiā Tǐyùguǎn /gwor-jyaa tee-yoo-gwan/) was the second venue for the
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
tournament for the 2022 Winter Olympics, besides the Wukesong Sports Centre. The National Speed Skating Oval (国家速滑馆 Guójiā Sùhuáguǎn /gwor-jyaa soo-hwaa-gwan/) has the nickname "Ice Ribbon" due to its exterior design. The National Speed Skating Oval was the venue for speed skating in the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Capital Indoor Stadium (首都体育馆 Shǒudū Tǐyùguǎn), also known as the Capital Gymnasium, was a venue adapted from the 2008 Summer Olympics and was reconstructed for
short-track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...
and figure skating competitions in the 2022 Winter Olympics. * Beijing National Stadiumopening, awarding and closing ceremonies / ''80,000'' existing *
Beijing National Aquatics Centre The National Aquatics Centre (), and colloquially known as the Water Cube () and the Ice Cube (), is an aquatics center at the Olympic Green in Beijing, China. The facility was originally constructed to host the aquatics competitions at the ...
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...
/ ''3,795'' renovated *
Beijing National Indoor Stadium The National Indoor Stadium (official name) ()Official Beijing Olympics siteNational Indoor Stadium is an indoor stadium that is located in the Olympic Green in Beijing, China. The stadium has a capacity of 20,000 people, and was constructed ...
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
/ ''19,418'' existing * Beijing National Speed Skating Oval
speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skati ...
/ ''11,950'' new * Capital Indoor Stadium
figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
,
short track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as ...
/ ''13,289'' existing *
Wukesong Sports Centre The Wukesong Arena (), also known as the Cadillac Arena () for sponsorship purposes, is a multipurpose indoor arena in Beijing. It was originally built for the 2008 Summer Olympics basketball preliminaries and finals. Ground was broken on 29 M ...
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
/ ''15,384'' existing *
Big Air Shougang Big Air Shougang ( zh, c=首钢滑雪大跳台, p=Shǒugāng huáxuě dà tiàotái) is a sports stadium in the Shijingshan District in Beijing, China, built to host the big air events of the 2022 Winter Olympics. It is the world's first permanent ...
snowboarding (Big Air), freestyle skiing (Big Air) – ''4,912'' new * Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Village – new Yanqing District is a suburban district localized at the
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
's far north. Competitions for
luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for ...
,
skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
,
bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Fede ...
and
alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...
were held in Xiaohaituo Mountain area in the West Dazhuangke village of Zhangshanying in Yanqing District, northwest of the urban area of Beijing, away from the city center of Beijing and away from the town of Yanqing, using artificial snow because of the rarity of natural snow in this region. * National Alpine Ski Centre ( Rock, Ice River) –
alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...
''4,800'' new * National Sliding Centre
bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Fede ...
,
luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for ...
,
skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
/ ''7,400'' new * Yanqing Olympic Village / new


Zhangjiakou Zone

All other skiing events were held in Taizicheng Area in
Chongli District Chongli District (; ) is a district of Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China. By road, it is from Beijing. 2022 Winter Olympics Chongli District will stage most of the skiing events during the 2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics ...
, Zhangjiakou city, Hebei province. It is from downtown Beijing and away from Xiaohaituo Mountain Area. The ski resort earned over ¥ 1.54 billion (US$237.77 million) in tourism during the 2015–16 winter season for a 31.6% growth over the previous season. In 2016, it was announced that Chongli received 2.185 million tourists, an increase of 30% from the previous season, during the first snow season after winning the Olympic bid. The snow season lasted for five months from November, during which Chongli has hosted thirty-six competitions and activities, such as Far East Cup and Children Skiing International Festival. A total of twenty-three skiing camps have also been set up, attracting the participation of 3,800 youths. All the venues construction started in November 2016 and was finished by the end of 2020 to enable the city to hold test events. * Snow Ruyiski jumping, Nordic combined (ski jumping) ''6,000'' * National Biathlon Centre – biathlon ''6,024'' *
Genting Snow Park The then Beijing Olympic Games Bidding Committee unveiled the venue layout plan for the 2022 Winter Olympics on 20 February 2014:the plan was include the five ice events at the Olympic Green, the Capital Indoor Stadium and the Wukesong Sports Ce ...
**Park A – Ski and snowboard cross ''1,774'' **Park B – Halfpipe and Slopestyle (freestyle skiing and snowboard) ''2,550'' **Park C – Aerials and Moguls ''1,597'' * National Cross-Country Centre – Nordic combined (cross-country), cross-country ''6,023'' * Zhangjiakou Olympic Village * Zhangjiakou Medals Plaza


Medals

The design for the Games' medals was unveiled on 26 October 2021. The concept is based on traditional Chinese astronomy and astrology as the games were held coinciding with the
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () a ...
festivities. The uniforms for medal presenters at medal ceremonies were unveiled in January 2022. The uniforms have been designed by the Central Academy of Fine Arts and
Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology () is a university in Beijing, China. Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. It was founded in 1959 as the Beijing Institute of Textile Technology and was later renamed as the Beijing Institute of Chem ...
.


Torch relay

The torch relay started on 18 October 2021 in Greece. On 20 October 2021, it was announced that the local leg would start on 2 February and end on 4 February 2022 during the Opening Ceremonies. The local leg only visited two cities:
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
and Zhangjiakou. Activists staged a protest at the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Greece. The inclusion and television appearance of Qi Fabao, a
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...
commander well known in China for his involvement in the 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes, as one of 1,200 torchbearers have been controversial, with India launching a diplomatic boycott of the Games as a result.


Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
resulted in changes in the qualifying process for
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...
and
women's ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
due to the cancellation of tournaments in 2020. Qualification for curling was based on placement in the 2021 World Curling Championships and an Olympic Qualification Event that completed the field (in place of points earned across the 2020 and 2021 World Curling Championships). The IIHF based its qualification for the women's tournament upon existing
IIHF World Ranking The IIHF World Ranking is a ranking of the performance of the national ice hockey teams of member countries of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It is based on a formula giving points for each team's placings at IIHF-sanctioned to ...
s, without holding the 2020 Women's World Championship. On 29 September 2021, the IOC announced biosecurity protocols for the Games; all athletes were required to remain within the
bio-secure bubble A bio-secure bubble, also known as a bubble, or hub city, was a hosting arrangement for sporting events that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, under which events were held at a centralized site, often behind closed doors, with strict quara ...
(referred to as a "closed-loop management system") for the duration of their participation, which included daily
COVID-19 testing COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the virus or antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral p ...
, and only being allowed to travel to and from Games-related venues. Unless they are fully- vaccinated or have a valid medical exemption, all athletes were required to quarantine for 21 days upon their arrival. Mirroring a protocol adopted for the 2020 Summer Olympics before they were moved behind closed doors, the IOC also announced that only residents of the People's Republic of China would be permitted to attend the Games as spectators. On 23 December 2021, the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
(NHL) and
National Hockey League Players' Association NHLPA (french: AJLNH) is the labour union for the group of professional hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey League (NHL) located in the United States and Canada. The association re ...
(NHLPA) announced that they had agreed to withdraw their players' participation in the Games' men's hockey tournament, citing concerns over COVID-19 and the need to make up games that had been postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks. As part of their latest
collective agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...
with the NHLPA, the NHL had agreed to accommodate a break for the Olympics and player participation for the first time since 2014. On 17 January 2022, amid increasing lockdowns across China and the first detected case of the Omicron variant in Beijing, it was announced that ticket sales to the general public were cancelled, and that limited numbers of spectators would be admitted by invitation only. These, therefore, became the second Olympics in a row that were closed to the general public. In the lead-up to the Games, organizers stated that they had aimed for at least 30% capacity at each venue, divided equally between spectators from within the "closed loop" (including dignitaries, delegations, and the press), and invited guests from outside of it (including local residents, school students, winter sports enthusiasts, and marketing partners). At least 150,000 spectators from outside the "closed loop" were expected to attend. Spectators were only present at events held in Beijing and Zhangjiakou; all events in Yanqing were held behind closed doors with no spectators permitted. Everyone present at the Games, including athletes, staff, and attendees, were required to use the My2022
mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
as part of the biosecurity protocols, which was used for submissions of customs declarations and health records for travel to the Games, daily health self-reporting, and records of COVID-19 vaccination and testing. The app also provided news and information relating to the Games, and messaging functions. Concerns raised about the security of the My2022 app and how information collected by it would be used. Because of the strict COVID-19 protocol, some top athletes, considered to be medal contenders, were not able to travel to China after having tested positive, even if asymptomatic. The cases included Austrian ski jumper Marita Kramer, the leader of the World Cup ranking, and Russian skeletonist
Nikita Tregubov Nikita Mikhailovich Tregubov (russian: Никита Михайлович Трегубов; born 14 February 1995) is a Russian skeleton racer. Career He competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in his native Russia, and when improved to a silver m ...
, silver medalist of the 2018 Winter Olympics.


Transportation

The new Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway opened in late 2019, starting from Beijing North railway station and ending at Zhangjiakou railway station. It was built for speeds of up to ; with this new road system, the travel time from Beijing to Zhangjiakou was decreased to around 50 minutes. A dedicated train for the Winter Olympics began to run on this line in January 2022, featuring a mobile television studio that supports live broadcast on the train. On December 31, 2021, the
Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends ...
reached the planned at the bid book. Planned before the city was awarded the rights to the games, the
Beijing Daxing International Airport Beijing Daxing International Airport , is one of two international airports serving Beijing, the other one being Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). It is located on the border of Beijing and Langfang, Hebei Province. It has bee ...
opened in 2019, and due to the strategic location, it would be the main focus for the arrival and entry of delegations on Chinese soil.Chinese officials had hoped that this airport would replace Beijing Capital International Airport as the country's main hub for arrivals and departures between its opening and the Winter Games and reduce the international and domestic demands of the older airport.This airport replaced the old Beijing Nanyuan Airport which was out of date and was on the list of the most dangerous airports in the world because of its location and since its opening, it has been sharing the local and international demands of the city and the country with the older
Beijing Capital International Airport Beijing Capital International Airport is one of two international airports serving Beijing, the other one being Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX). It is located northeast of Beijing's city center, in an exclave of Chaoyang District ...
. However, according to the COVID-19 pandemic security protocol manual issued by BOCWOG and International Olympic Committee, all foreign delegations could only enter and leave Beijing via the Capital International Airport due to its smaller size and the fact that it is closer to the city center and Olympic Green and has specific isolation areas and a better health protocols.


Budget

The original estimated budget for the games is US$3.9 billion, less than one-tenth of the $43 billion spent on the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, it was estimated that the true budget was likely more than US$38.5 billion, ten times higher than the original estimate.


Ceremonies


Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 4 February 2022 at Beijing National Stadium. Amid the political controversies and tensions impacting the Games, IOC president
Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former Olympic foil fencer and Olympic gold medalist, serving as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 10 September 2013. He is also a former mem ...
instructed athletes to "show how the world would look like, if we all respect the same rules and each other", and pledged that "there ouldbe no discrimination for any reason whatsoever." The final seven torchbearers reflected multiple decades of Chinese athletes, beginning with the 1950s, and concluding with two skiers competing in the Games—21 year-old skier Zhao Jiawen from Shanxi (the first Chinese athlete to compete in Nordic combined), and 20-year-old Dinigeer Yilamujiang from the
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
autonomous region ( cross-country, and the first Chinese cross-country skier to win a medal in an ISF event). For the first time in Olympic history, the final torchbearers did not light a cauldron: instead, they fitted the torch into the centre of a large stylised snowflake, constructed from placards bearing the names of the delegations competing in the Games. Three similar snowflakes were also erected as public flames, with one outside of the stadium lit by a volunteer, one in Yanqing District lit by speed skater Yu Jongjun, and the third in Zhangjiakou lit by skier Wang Wezhuo.


Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics was held at Beijing National Stadium on 20 February 2022; it included a cultural presentation, closing remarks, and the formal handover to
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
and
Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite (river), ...
as hosts of the
2026 Winter Olympics The 2026 Winter Olympics, officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games ( it, XXV Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Milano Cortina 2026 ( lld, Milano-Anpezo 2026 or ), is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place fr ...
.


Sports

The 2022 Winter Olympics include a record 109 events over 15 disciplines in seven sports. There are seven new medal events, including men's and women's big air freestyle, women's
monobob Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...
, mixed team competitions in freestyle skiing aerials, ski jumping, and snowboard cross, and the mixed relay in short track speed skating. ''Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each discipline.'' * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


New events

In October 2016, the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced plans to begin permitting women's competitions in Nordic combined, to contest the discipline at the Olympic level for the first time in Beijing. In November 2017, a further three events were put forward by the FIS for possible Olympic inclusion: a ski jumping mixed team competition and men's and women's big air in freestyle skiing. At their May 2018
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
at the Costa Navarino resort in Messenia,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
, the FIS submitted several additional events for consideration, including a proposal to make
telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is n ...
an Olympic discipline for the first time in Beijing, with proposed competitions to include the men's and women's parallel sprint and a mixed team parallel sprint. The Congress also approved to submit the aerials mixed team event, and several new snowboarding events: the men and women's snowboard cross team event; a mixed team alpine parallel event; the men's and women's parallel special slalom; and a mixed team parallel special slalom event. The individual parallel special slalom events were featured at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, but were dropped from the Olympic program in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
to make way for the snowboarding big air competitions. The International Luge Federation (FIL) proposed the addition of six new events, including natural track luge (men's and women's singles), a women's doubles competition on the artificial track, and sprint events (men, women, and doubles) on the artificial track. The
International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, N ...
(ISU) continued to campaign for the addition of synchronized skating as a new event within the discipline of
figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
. The ISU also proposed a new mixed team event in
short track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as ...
. In biathlon, a single mixed relay was proposed by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) to complement the four-person mixed relay that featured at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Also, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) proposed a new team event, but there was no plan to introduce a four-woman bobsleigh event despite the recommendation from the federation's executive board to propose such an event in the interests of gender equality. In July 2018, the IOC announced changes to the program for the 2022 Winter Olympics as part of a goal to increase the participation of women, and appeal to younger audiences. Seven new medal events were added (expanding the total program to 109 events), including men's and women's big air freestyle, women's
monobob Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...
, mixed team competitions in freestyle skiing aerials, ski jumping, and snowboard cross, and the mixed relay in short track speed skating. Women's Nordic combined was not added; Nordic combined remains the only Winter Olympic sport only contested by men.


Participating National Olympic Committees

On 9 December 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from all international sport for four years, after the Russian government was found to have tampered with lab data that it provided to WADA in January 2019 as a condition of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency being reinstated. As a result of the ban, WADA planned to allow individually cleared Russian athletes to take part in the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
under a neutral banner, as instigated at the
2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , wint ...
, but they were not permitted to compete in team sports. WADA Compliance Review Committee head Jonathan Taylor stated that the IOC would not be able to use "
Olympic Athletes from Russia Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece be ...
" (OAR) again, as it did in 2018, emphasizing that neutral athletes cannot be portrayed as representing a specific country. Russia later filed an appeal to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its ...
(CAS) against the WADA decision. After reviewing the case on appeal, CAS ruled on 17 December 2020 to reduce the penalty WADA had placed on Russia. Instead of banning Russia from sporting events, the ruling allowed Russia to participate in the Olympics and other international events, but for two years, the team cannot use the Russian name, flag, or anthem and must present themselves as "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team." The ruling does allow for team uniforms to display "Russia" on the uniform as well as the use of the Russian flag colors within the uniform's design, although the name should be up to equal predominance as the "Neutral Athlete/Team" designation. On 19 February 2021, it was announced that Russia would compete under the acronym "ROC" after the name of the Russian Olympic Committee although the name of the committee itself in full could not be used to refer to the delegation. Russia would be represented by the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee. On 8 September 2021, the IOC Executive Board suspended the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) through at least the end of 2022 for violations of the Olympic Charter, over its refusal to send athletes to the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
in Tokyo due to COVID-19 pandemic-related concerns. North Korean athletes would be allowed to participate under the Olympic flag. However, North Korean Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee said in a letter to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, the Chinese Olympic Committee, and the General Administration of Sport of China on 7 January 2022 that "Due to the "action of hostile forces" and the COVID-19 pandemic, they would not be able to participate in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics." In addition, the North Korean Olympic Committee said "supports all the work of our comrades in China to host a grand and wonderful Olympics. The United States and its followers are plotting anti-Chinese conspiracies to obstruct the successful hosting of the Olympics, but this is an insult to the spirit of the Olympic Charter and an act to damage China's international image. We firmly oppose and reject these actions." The following 91 National Olympic Committees have qualified athletes (two less than four years earlier), with
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
making their Winter Olympic débuts. Kenya qualified one athlete, but withdrew.


Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee

2,871 athletes from 91 NOCs:


Calendar


Medal table

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
finished at the top of the medal table for the second successive Winter Olympics, winning a total of 37 medals, of which 16 were gold, setting a new record for the largest number of gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics.
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
finished second with 12 golds and 27 medals overall, and the host nation
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
finished third with nine gold medals, marking their most successful performance in Winter Olympics history. The team representing the ROC ended up with the second largest number of medals won at the Games, with 32, but finished ninth on the medal table, as only six gold medals were won by the delegation. Traditional Winter powerhouse
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
; despite having won 26 medals, only four of them were gold, resulting in a finish outside the top ten in the medal table for the first time since 1988 (34 years).


Podium sweeps


Marketing


Emblem

The emblem for the 2022 Winter Olympics, "Winter Dream" (冬梦), was unveiled on 15 December 2017 at the
Beijing National Aquatics Center The National Aquatics Centre (), and colloquially known as the Water Cube () and the Ice Cube (), is an aquatics center at the Olympic Green in Beijing, China. The facility was originally constructed to host the aquatics competitions at the 2 ...
. Designed by Lin Cunzhen (who previously designed the emblem of the
2014 Summer Youth Olympics The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the II Summer Youth Olympic Games , and commonly known as Nanjing 2014 ( zh, c=南京2014, p=Nánjīng Èr Líng yī sì), were the second Summer Youth Olympic Games, an international sports ...
in
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
), the emblem is a stylized rendition of the Chinese character for winter (冬) as a multi-coloured ribbon, reflecting upon the landscapes of the host region. The beginning of the ribbon symbolizes an ice skater, while the end of the ribbon symbolizes a skier. The emblem carries a blue, red, and yellow colour scheme: the latter two colours represent both the flag of China, and "passion, youth, and vitality".


Mascot

Bing Dwen Dwen was the mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Bing Dwen Dwen was chosen from thousands of Chinese designs in 35 countries worldwide. "Bing" (冰) means ice in Chinese, and was meant to suggest purity and strength. "Dwen Dwen" (墩墩) was meant to suggest robustness, liveliness, and youth. Bing Dwen Dwen's astronaut-like clothes implied that the Winter Olympics embraced new technologies and created possibilities.


Slogan

The Games' official slogan, "Together for a Shared Future" (), was announced on 17 September 2021; organisers stated that the slogan was intended to reflect "the power of the Games to overcome global challenges as a community". The slogan was compared in media with Chinese leader
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
's policy slogan: 'Building the Common Future of Humanity'.


Viewership

* 2.01 billion viewers (on television and digital platforms) were recorded. * A total of 713 billion minutes of coverage was watched on various Olympic Media Rights Partners’ channels, represents an 18 per cent increase when comparing with the last edition.


Broadcasting

In China, domestic rights to these Games were owned by
China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
(CCTV), with rights being sublicensed by China Mobile's Migu streaming service. In some countries, broadcast rights to the 2022 Winter Olympics were already agreed upon through existing long-term deals. In France and the United Kingdom, these were the first Games where
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
would be the main rightsholder; the BBC sub-licensed a limited amount of coverage on free-to-air television, as part of a deal in which the BBC sold the pay-TV rights to the 2018 and 2020 Games to Eurosport. In January 2022, the BBC announced it would broadcast over 300 hours of free-to-air live coverage, as well as highlights programmes. The scheduling of the Games impacted the U.S. broadcast rights to the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
since this is the first time that the Super Bowl was held during the Winter Olympics (and the second time that both events have been held on the same year on NBC), the championship game of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL) and historically the most-watched television broadcast in the United States annually. The rights to the game rotate between CBS, Fox, and long-time Olympic broadcaster NBC; to prevent the Games from
competing Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...
for viewership and advertising sales with
Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...
—which was scheduled for 13 February 2022 at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium—CBS and NBC announced in March 2019 that they would invert the rights for Super Bowl LVI and LV (2021), so that both the 2022 Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LVI would be broadcast by NBC. In a break from the established practice of airing premieres or special episodes of entertainment programmes after the Super Bowl to take advantage of its large audience, NBC aired its prime time coverage for Day 10 of the Games immediately following Super Bowl LVI. Furthermore, the NFL's new media rights beginning in 2023 (which extends the Super Bowl rotation to four networks) codifies this scenario, with all of NBC's future Super Bowl games being in Winter Olympic years 026, 2030, and 2034 (if it still has the Olympic rights then) These Games also confirmed an ongoing trend in U.S. viewership of the Olympics; while television viewership had seen a further decline, they were offset by increases in
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
engagement and
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
viewership of the Games. Similar trends were seen in Europe, where Eurosport reported an eight-fold increase in streaming viewership on its platforms and
Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...
over Pyeongchang 2018.


Concerns and controversies

During the bidding process, critics questioned the Beijing bid, arguing that the proposed outdoor venue sites do not have reliable snowfall in winter for snow sports. Concerns have been raised that snow may need to be transported to the venues at great cost and with uncertain environmental consequences. Additional concerns about weather conditions were raised during certain events. Swedish athlete Frida Karlsson nearly collapsed after the women's skiathlon due to low temperatures. Afterwards, the Swedes considered putting in a request for races to be moved to earlier in the day, stating that the afternoons and early evenings scheduled for European TV audiences were hurting the performance of the athletes. As with 2008, activists, human rights groups, and diplomats have made calls to boycott the Olympic Games when they are hosted by China. In the aftermath of the 2019 leak of the Xinjiang papers, the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government ...
, and the Uyghur genocide, calls were made for a boycott of the 2022 Games. Because of these issues, the selection of an athlete from Xinjiang as part of the final torchbearers received a mixed reaction. In February 2021, the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
-owned tabloid ''
Global Times The ''Global Times'' () is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the '' People's Daily'', commenting on international issues from a Chinese ultra-nationalistic perspective. The pub ...
'' warned that China could "seriously sanction any country that follows a boycott." In March 2021, Chinese spokesperson Guo Weimin stated that any attempt to boycott the Olympics would be doomed to fail. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also told the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell that they should attend the games to "enhance exchanges on winter sport", and to "foster new highlights" in bilateral cooperation. The IOC stated that it remains neutral in all global political issues and that the award of hosting the games does not signal agreement with the host country's political or social situation or its human rights standards. The committee's response to Agence France-Presse read: "We've repeatedly said it: the IOC isn't responsible for the government. It only gives the rights and opportunity for the staging of the Olympic Games. That doesn't mean we agree with all the politics, all the social or human rights issues in the country. And it doesn't mean we approve of all the human rights violations of a person or people." The statement attracted criticism, with Pacific University professor
Jules Boykoff Jules Boykoff (born September 11, 1970) is an American academic, author, poet, and former athlete. He is a former professional soccer player. His research focuses on the politics of the Olympic Games, social movements, the suppression of dissent ...
accusing the IOC of "hypocrisy". After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' published a report alleging that China requested Russia to delay the invasion until after the Olympics to avoid damaging the Games' public image. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, has rejected the claims as "speculations without any basis, and intended to blame-shift and smear China".


The United States Diplomatic Boycott

The United States boycott of China's Winter Olympics was predominantly due to China's human rights issues on topics such as the systematic oppression of the Uyghurs, Tibetans and the protest in Hong Kong in 2019. The Chinese government implemented many coercive activities in those regions, such as the reeducation campus, mass detention camps, and restricted access to social media.


Key event timeline

In October 2018, American senator Marco Rubio, Senator Jeff Merkley, and Congressmen Jim McGovern and Chris Smith sent a letter, on behalf of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), to the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
(IOC) requesting the revocation of China’s host right on the 2022 Winter Olympics. The letter stated that “no Olympics should be held in a country whose government is committing genocide and crimes against humanity.” In November 2021, President Biden proposed “a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.” The United States is aware of the prospective harsh punishment of being suspended by the National Olympic Committee and was careful regarding the scale and severity of the boycott. In December 2021, the Biden administration officially initiated a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, restricting United States government officials' presence to the game. In February 2022, Team USA attended the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics without government representatives' support.


Reactions

The IOC remained relatively neutral regarding the letter from CECC or the boycott. The IOC negotiated with the Chinese government on specific protocols to ensure the Olympics game runs smoothly, such as providing unrestricted internet access to foreign journalists. From China’s perspective, the United States is “politicizing sports” with the Biden Boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China () is the first-ranked executive department of the State Council of the Chinese government, responsible for the foreign relations of the People's Republic of China. It is le ...
spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, accused the United States of violating the spirit of political neutrality endorsed in the Olympic Charter, emphasizing that an Olympic game should not be a place for political posturing and manipulation. China announced that the United States was not yet officially invited by the host committee; thus, the United States should not initiate the boycott in the first place. Following the United States, many countries in the Western world decided to join the diplomatic boycott to show disapproval of China’s human rights issues.


Environmental impact

An estimated of water was expected to be used to create snow at the various venues. Pyeongchang, South Korea, which held the previous Winter Olympics, also had a cold but similarly arid climate that required vast quantities of artificial snow. Professor Carmen de Jong, a geographer at the
University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...
, argued that these would be the "most unsustainable" Winter Olympics in history. The IOC stated that "a series of water-conserving and recycling designs have been put into place to optimize water usage for snowmaking, human consumption, and other purposes. Artificial snow forms a harder piste compared to real snow. It is often favoured by professionals for being fast and "hyper-grippy" but also raises their fear of falling on it. American snowboarder Jamie Anderson compared it to "pretty bulletproof ice" while her teammate Courtney Rummel compared it to the man-made snow in
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. According to
Jules Boykoff Jules Boykoff (born September 11, 1970) is an American academic, author, poet, and former athlete. He is a former professional soccer player. His research focuses on the politics of the Olympic Games, social movements, the suppression of dissent ...
in February 2022, Beijing's electricity came largely from coal and this coal power was what supported the construction of some Olympic venues. To offset emissions from construction and air travel, China had planted roughly 60 million trees.


Sporting controversies

There were concerns about decisions and disqualification in several events during the games. These issues included the following: * An official appeal to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its ...
over the disqualification of two South Korean athletes from the men's 1000 metres short track speed skating event filed by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, after having their protests rejected by the
International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, N ...
. * Controversy surrounding a ruling of an obstruction in the 5000 metres relay event. * A potential missed call by judges during the men's snowboard slopestyle and men's half pipe event events. * A ruling of a false start in the men's 500 metres speed skating event. * The disqualification of racers for their uniforms during the mixed team normal hill event of ski jumping. * The continued participation of a figure skater
Kamila Valieva Kamila Valeryevna Valieva (russian: Камила Валерьевна Валиева; born 26 April 2006) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 European champion, 2021 Rostelecom Cup champion, 2021 Skate Canada International champion, ...
in the women's singles competition after a preliminary positive drug test from a sample 2 months prior. * Three athletes failed the doping test during the Olympics and were suspended: Iranian alpine skier Hossein Saveh-Shemshaki, Ukrainian cross-country skier Valiantsina Kaminskaya, and Ukrainian bobsledder Lidiia Hunko. The positive test of the Spanish figure skater Laura Barquero was announced after the Olympics. * U.S. skater Joey Mantia alleged that South Korean skater Lee Seung-hoon made contact with him and pulled him back, preventing him from winning a bronze medal in the Mass Start final. Mantia lost by a 0.002-second margin. Team USA challenged the result, but Lee was awarded the bronze medal.


Athlete and officials complaints

The food and overall conditions in
quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
hotels given to athletes testing positive for COVID-19 were criticised early on. Team officials from delegations including Belgium, Germany, Poland, Finland and the Russian Olympic Committee all brought up issues their athletes faced in quarantine hotels, among them were the lack of internet connections, low-quality food, insufficient facilities and no training equipment. With China's
Zero-COVID Zero-COVID, also known as COVID-Zero and "Find, Test, Trace, Isolate, and Support" (FTTIS), is a public health policy that has been implemented by some countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.Anna Llupià, Rodríguez-Giralt, Anna Fité, Lola Ála ...
policy, there were issues raised about the process of quarantine at the games. On 2 February, Belgian skeleton athlete Kim Meylemans posted on social media and was in tears about the conditions she faced while in quarantine. According to ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' and ''Time'', the hotels' conditions appeared to have improved after the athletes' complaints were made public. There were some complaints about the food served outside of quarantine. Germany's
alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...
coach Christian Schweiger called the catering "extremely questionable" for not having hot meals but he echoed athletes from several nations that the food at the nearby Athletes' Village was great. The US and South Korean teams elected to bring their own food. Austrian skier
Matthias Mayer Matthias Mayer (; born 9 June 1990) is an Austrian retired World Cup alpine ski racer and Career Born in Afritz am See in Carinthia, Mayer made his World Cup debut in Sestriere in February 2009. His best discipline is super-G. After several ...
said that Kitzbuehel would have offered "the best of the best" but also that a hot meal right before a race might not bring out top performances. Other complaints included low temperatures and related safety concerns. Sweden's Frida Karlsson nearly collapsed at the conclusion of the women's skiathlon cross-country race. Afterwards, her team considered requesting that races held in afternoons and evenings for European TV audiences be moved to earlier during the day. Some athletes resorted to putting tape on their faces and noses to protect them from the bitter cold. Heavy snowfall disrupted a number of competition and training events on 13 February. Thirty-three skiers did not finish their first run of the men's giant slalom.
Henrik Kristoffersen Henrik Kristoffersen (born 2 July 1994) is a Norwegian World Cup alpine ski racer, World Champion, and Olympic medalist. He specializes in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. Career Born in Rælingen in Akershus county, Kristoffer ...
of Norway said that he "couldn't see shit." Switzerland's Loic Meillard said, "It's not what I was hoping for but it's part of the game ... we've raced in conditions like that before."


See also

* List of Olympic Games boycotts


Notes


References


External links


Organizing Committee WebsiteBeijing 2022
on the IOC Website {{Authority control 2022 Winter Olympics 2020s in Beijing Winter Olympics Winter Olympics 2022 in winter sports Winter Olympics Olympic Games in China Sport in Zhangjiakou Sports competitions in Beijing Winter Olympics by year