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The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter
multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of intern ...
held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, China, and surrounding areas with competition in selected events beginning 2 February 2022. It was the 24th edition of the
Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...
. Beijing was selected as host city on 31 July 2015 at the
128th IOC Session The 128th IOC Session took place from July 31 – August 3, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics were elected during the 128th IOC Sess ...
in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, Malaysia, marking its second time hosting the Olympics, and the last of three consecutive Olympics hosted in
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
following the
2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...
in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, and the
2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
in Tokyo, Japan. Having previously hosted the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
, Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The venues for the Games were concentrated around Beijing, its suburb
Yanqing District Yanqing District (), formerly known as Yanqing County before 2015, is a District (China), district of the municipality of Beijing located northwest of the city proper of Beijing, 74km away from the city center. The district consists of 3 Subdi ...
, and
Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest ...
, with some events (including the ceremonies and curling) repurposing venues originally built for Beijing 2008 (such as
Beijing National Stadium The National Stadium (), the Bird's Nest (), is a stadium at Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The National Stadium, covering an area of 204,000 square meters with an 80,000 person capacity (91,000 with temporary ...
and the
Beijing National Aquatics Centre The Water Cube (水立方), fully a.k.a. the National Aquatics Centre (), is a swimming center at the Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The Water Cube was originally constructed to host the aquatics competitions at the 2008 Summer O ...
). 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, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
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 Human rights in the People's Republic of China are poor, as per reviews by international bodies, such as human rights treaty bodies and the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the ...
, such as the
persecution of Uyghurs in China Since 2014, the government of the People's Republic of China has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang which has often been characterized as persecution or as ...
, which led to calls for a boycott of the games. At least ten countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, and Belgium, participated in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics, sending athletes but not government officials. Several other countries, including Slovenia, Sweden, and the Netherlands, also did not send officials but cited its decision was due to COVID-19 precautions. Meanwhile, the European Union remained divided, with countries such as Italy, Germany, France, Poland, and Finland refusing to join the U.S.-led diplomatic boycott, and preventing a unified EU-wide boycott. Like the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
held six months earlier in Tokyo, the 2022 Winter Olympics took place during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and were largely closed to the public, with only selected events open to invited guests at a reduced capacity. To minimize the risk of virus transmission, China implemented strict health and safety measures, including a closed-loop system, frequent testing, and quarantine protocols for participants. Consequently, no major outbreaks were reported during the Games.
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
finished at the top of the medal table for the third 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. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
finished fourth 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
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(IOC) 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 ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
(Norway),
Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...
(Kazakhstan), and
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
(China), as the final candidates. Several bid 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 IOC's 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 The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...
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 Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' 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 This is the list of International Olympic Committee (IOC) meetings. Olympic Congresses IOC Sessions There has been a session during all Olympic Games except the 1900, 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics and the 1924, 1928 and ...
in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, Malaysia.


Development and preparations


Venues

In February 2021, Beijing announced that the 26 venues (including training venues) for these sports would be running on entirely
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
. There were 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, for both the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, would take place. Five ice events were held at the
Olympic Green The Olympic Green () is an Olympic Park in Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The three main facilities there include the National Stadium (China), National Stadium (Bird's Nest), Water Cube, and National Indoor Stadium. Olympic Green ...
, the
Capital Indoor Stadium The Capital Indoor Stadium () is an indoor arena in 56 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, China that was built in 1968. It hosted matches between national table tennis teams of China and the United States in 1971; these matches were part of the ...
and the Beijing
Wukesong Sports Center 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 ...
, which had been some of the main venues of the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
. 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 city 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 south, an ...
, at
Western Hills The Western Hills () are the hills and mountains in the western part of Beijing. Geography Being an extension of the Taihang mountain range from the Hebei Province, the Western Hills cover approximately 17% of the Beijing municipality, incl ...
area. Since the end of 2009, the Beijing Olympic Village apartments on the Olympic Green had been transformed into a residential area. There was therefore 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 neighbourhood of the
National Olympic Sports Center The National Olympic Sports Centre () or Olympic Sports Center Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. It is currently used mostly for soccer matches. It was constructed in 1986 for the 1990 Asian Games. The c ...
and will serves as
Chinese Olympic Committee The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC; ; List of IOC country codes, IOC code: CHN) is the National Olympic Committee of China. It is headquartered in Dongcheng, Beijing, Dongcheng, Beijing, China. Leaders Timeline concerning Olympic recogni ...
residential complex for those athletes who will undergo training sessions at the nearby venues. The
Beijing National Stadium The National Stadium (), the Bird's Nest (), is a stadium at Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The National Stadium, covering an area of 204,000 square meters with an 80,000 person capacity (91,000 with temporary ...
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 #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...
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 Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...
and
snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...
events. The Wukesong Sports Centre (五棵松体育馆 Wǔkēsōng Tǐyùguǎn /woo-ker-song tee-yoo-gwan/) was under an 8-month 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 in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
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 in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
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 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 skat ...
in the 2022 Winter Olympics. The
Capital Indoor Stadium The Capital Indoor Stadium () is an indoor arena in 56 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, China that was built in 1968. It hosted matches between national table tennis teams of China and the United States in 1971; these matches were part of the ...
(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 skating, 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 s ...
and
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, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
competitions in the 2022 Winter Olympics. *
Beijing National Stadium The National Stadium (), the Bird's Nest (), is a stadium at Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The National Stadium, covering an area of 204,000 square meters with an 80,000 person capacity (91,000 with temporary ...
opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...
, awarding and
closing Closing may refer to: Business and law * Closing (law), a closing argument, a summation * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction * Closing (sales), the process of making a sale * Closing a business, the proc ...
ceremonies / ''80,000'' existing *
Beijing National Aquatics Centre The Water Cube (水立方), fully a.k.a. the National Aquatics Centre (), is a swimming center at the Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The Water Cube was originally constructed to host the aquatics competitions at the 2008 Summer O ...
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...
/ ''3,795'' renovated *
Beijing National Indoor Stadium The National Indoor Stadium (), a.k.a. ''Folding Fan'' (折扇), is an arena located at Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The stadium has a capacity of 20,000 people, and was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is nicknamed ...
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
/ ''19,418'' existing *
Beijing National Speed Skating Oval The National Speed Skating Oval (The Ice Ribbon) is a speed skating arena which is the only new venue built on Beijing's Olympic Green for the Winter Olympics. It hosted the speed skating competitions at the 2022 Winter Olympics. It was built on ...
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 skat ...
/ ''11,950'' new *
Capital Indoor Stadium The Capital Indoor Stadium () is an indoor arena in 56 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, China that was built in 1968. It hosted matches between national table tennis teams of China and the United States in 1971; these matches were part of the ...
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, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
,
short track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, 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 s ...
/ ''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 in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
/ ''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 permanen ...
snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...
(Big Air),
freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...
(Big Air) – ''4,912'' new * Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Village – new
Yanqing District Yanqing District (), formerly known as Yanqing County before 2015, is a District (China), district of the municipality of Beijing located northwest of the city proper of Beijing, 74km away from the city center. The district consists of 3 Subdi ...
is a suburban district localized at the
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
's far north. Competitions for
luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...
,
skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...
,
bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...
and
alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...
were held in Xiaohaituo Mountain area in the
West Dazhuangke West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
village of
Zhangshanying Zhangshanying Town () is a town in the Yanqing District of Beijing. It shares border with Dahaituo Township in the north, Jiuxian and Shenjiaying Towns in the east, Yanqing Town in the south, and Beixinpu Town in the west. As of 2020, Zhangshanying ...
in
Yanqing District Yanqing District (), formerly known as Yanqing County before 2015, is a District (China), district of the municipality of Beijing located northwest of the city proper of Beijing, 74km away from the city center. The district consists of 3 Subdi ...
, northwest of the urban area of Beijing, away from the city center of Beijing and away from the town of Yanqing, using
artificial snow Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...
because of the rarity of natural snow in this region. * National Alpine Ski Centre (
Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
, Ice River) –
alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...
''4,800'' new * National Sliding Centre
bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...
,
luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...
,
skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...
/ ''7,400'' new * Yanqing Olympic Village / new


Zhangjiakou Zone

All other skiing events were held in
Taizicheng Taizicheng ( zh, s= , p=Tàizǐchéng) is a village in Sitaizui (), Chongli District of Zhangjiakou in the northwest of Hebei Province, China. Its name means "City of the Crown Prince", and archaeological excavations carried out between May and N ...
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 had been the stage of most of the skiing events during the 2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winte ...
,
Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest ...
city,
Hebei province Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
. 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 Ruyi
ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...
,
Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...
(ski jumping) ''6,000'' * National Biathlon Centre –
biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...
''6,024'' *
Genting Snow Park The 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 Center ...
**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 Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...
(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 the 2008 Summer Olympics medals and Chinese astronomy and astrology as the games were held coinciding with the
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...
festivities. The uniforms for medal presenters at medal ceremonies were unveiled in January 2022. The uniforms have been designed in a joint project by the
Central Academy of Fine Arts The Central Academy of Fine Arts or CAFA is an art academy under the direct charge of the Ministry of Education of China. The Manila Bulletin calls the school "China’s most prestigious and renowned art academy." It is considered one of the most ...
and Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology.


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, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
and
Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest ...
. 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 military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
commander well known in China for his involvement in the
2020–2021 China–India skirmishes Beginning on 5 May 2020, People's Liberation Army, Chinese and Indian Army, Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs, and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and t ...
, 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
resulted in changes in the qualifying process for
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...
and
women's ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Two opposing teams use ice h ...
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 tour ...
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 quarant ...
(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 virus that cases COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the viru ...
, and only being allowed to travel to and from Games-related venues. Unless they are fully-
vaccinated A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
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 Behind Closed Doors may refer to: Film, television and radio Film * ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli * Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...
, 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 United States'
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) and its labor union, the
National Hockey League Players' Association The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA, ) is the trade union, labour union for the group of professional List of NHL players, hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey ...
(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 outbreak 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 a ...
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 Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a Variants of SARS-CoV-2, variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has ...
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 smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...
as part of the biosecurity protocols, which was used for submissions of
customs declaration A customs declaration is a Form (document), form that lists the details of goods that are being imported or exported when a citizen or visitor enters a customs territory (country's borders). Most countries require travellers to complete a customs d ...
s 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 A message is a unit of communication that conveys information from a sender to a receiver. It can be transmitted through various forms, such as spoken or written words, signals, or electronic data, and can range from simple instructions to co ...
functions. Concerns were raised about the security of the My2022 app and how information collected by it would be used, so several delegations advised their athletes to bring
burner phone prepaid mobile device, also known as a pay-as-you-go (PAYG), pay-as-you-talk, pay and go, go-phone, or prepay, is a mobile device such as a phone for which credit is purchased in advance of service use. The purchased credit is used to pay for ...
s and laptops for the duration of the games. 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 Sara Marita Kramer (born 25 October 2001) is a Dutch-born Austrian ski jumper. Biography Kramer was born in the Netherlands, but moved from Apeldoorn to Maria Alm in Austria aged 6 when her parents started a pancake restaurant. This was docume ...
, the leader of the World Cup ranking, and Russian skeletonist
Nikita Tregubov Nikita Mikhailovich Tregubov (; 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 medal in skeleton at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Korea. During ...
, silver medalist of the 2018 Winter Olympics.


Transportation

The new Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway opened in late 2019, starting from
Beijing North railway station Beijingbei (Beijing North) railway station (), formerly known as Xizhimen railway station (), is a railway station in Beijing. It was built in 1905 as one of the original stations on the Jingzhang railway (part of the old Beijing–Baotou rail ...
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 31 December 2021, the
Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Direct-controlled municipality, Municipality that consists of 29 lines including 24 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and two light rail, light rail tram line ...
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 capital of China (the other being Beijing Capital International Airport). The airport is located on the border of Beijing and Langfang, Hebe ...
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 Beijing Nanyuan Airport was a People's Liberation Army Air Force Base and a secondary commercial airport of Beijing, the capital of China. Located in Fengtai, Beijing, Fengtai District, south of the 4th Ring Road and from Tiananmen Square, ...
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 the busier of the two international airports serving Beijing, the capital city of China (the other one being Beijing Daxing International Airport). The airport is located northeast of downtown Beijing ...
. 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 was US$3.9 billion, less than one-tenth of the $43 billion spent on the 2008 Summer Olympics. Although there were reports that the games might cost more than US$38.5 billion, the final official budget was US$2.24 billion and turning a profit of $52 million, of which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) donated $10.4 million of that surplus to the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) to help with the development of sport in China.


Ceremonies


Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 4 February 2022 at
Beijing National Stadium The National Stadium (), the Bird's Nest (), is a stadium at Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The National Stadium, covering an area of 204,000 square meters with an 80,000 person capacity (91,000 with temporary ...
. Amid the political controversies and tensions impacting the Games, IOC president
Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former foil fencer, and Olympic gold medalist. He has served as the ninth president of the International Olympic Committee since 2013, the first ever Olympic champion to be elected to tha ...
instructed athletes to "show how the world would look like, if we all respect the same rules and each other", and pledged that "there
ould Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word wikt:ولد, ولد, meaning "son". Notable people with this surname include: English surname * Edward Ould (1852–190 ...
be 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 Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...
(the first Chinese athlete to compete in
Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...
), and 20-year-old
Dinigeer Yilamujiang Dilnigar Ilhamjan (), also pronounced in Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin as Dinigeer Yilamujiang ( zh, 迪妮格尔·衣拉木江; born May 3, 2001), is a Chinese Cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skier of Uyghurs, Uyghur ethnicity, born in ...
from the
Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
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 A snowflake is a single ice crystal that is large enough to fall through the Earth's atmosphere as snow.Knight, C.; Knight, N. (1973). Snow crystals. Scientific American, vol. 228, no. 1, pp. 100–107.Hobbs, P.V. 1974. Ice Physics. Oxford: C ...
, 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 ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and
Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, 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 ...
as hosts of the
2026 Winter Olympics The 2026 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 at sites across Lombardy and North ...
.


Sports

The 2022 Winter Olympics included 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 winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsl ...
, 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 The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...
(FIS) announced plans to begin permitting women's competitions in
Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...
, 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 Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...
mixed team competition and men's and women's
big air Big air is a high-injury-risk sports discipline where the competitor rides a vehicle, such as a motocross motorcycle, a skateboard, a snowboard, or a pair of skis, down a hill or ramp and performs aerial tricks after launching off very large jum ...
in
freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...
. 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 Messenia or Messinia ( ; ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a prefecture (''nomos' ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, 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 skiing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, 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 ...
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 Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...
events: the men and women's
snowboard cross Snowboard cross, also known as boardercross, is a snowboard competition in which four to six competitors race down a course. Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, ...
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 The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...
in
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from  – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, but were dropped from the Olympic program in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
to make way for the snowboarding
big air Big air is a high-injury-risk sports discipline where the competitor rides a vehicle, such as a motocross motorcycle, a skateboard, a snowboard, or a pair of skis, down a hill or ramp and performs aerial tricks after launching off very large jum ...
competitions. The
International Luge Federation The International Luge Federation (French language, French: ''Fédération Internationale de Luge'' (FIL); German language, German: ''Internationaler Rennrodelverband'') is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nat ...
(FIL) proposed the addition of six new events, including
natural track luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...
(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 sport governing body, governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded ...
(ISU) continued to campaign for the addition of
synchronized skating Synchronized skating, often called synchro, is an ice skating sport where between 8 and 20 skaters perform together as a team. They move as a flowing unit at high speed over the ice, while performing elements and footwork. This complex sport orig ...
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, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
. The ISU also proposed a new mixed team event in
short track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, 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 s ...
. In
biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...
, a single mixed relay was proposed by the
International Biathlon Union The International Biathlon Union (IBU; ) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the city. It was rocked by a corruption ...
(IBU) to complement the four-person mixed relay that featured at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Also, the
International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) is the international sports federation for the sliding sports of Bobsleigh and skeleton (sport), Skeleton. It was founded on 23 November 1923 by the delegates of Great Britain, France, Sw ...
(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 winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsl ...
, 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 The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...
(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 The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA; ), established in January 2008, is the Russian National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), affiliated with (but suspended from, since 2015) the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). History It was established un ...
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 officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
under a neutral banner, as instigated at the
2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...
, 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" (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; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
(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 The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is the National Olympic Committee representing Russia. Its current president during IOC suspension is Mikhail Degtyarev. The membership of ROC is currently suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC ...
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 The Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (; IOC code: PRK) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) representing North Korea (competing either as DPR Korea or as the country's full official name, the Democratic People's ...
(North Korea) through at least the end of 2022 for violations of the
Olympic Charter The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the List of IOC meetings, 136th IOC Session, held by v ...
, over its refusal to send athletes to the
2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
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 The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC; ; List of IOC country codes, IOC code: CHN) is the National Olympic Committee of China. It is headquartered in Dongcheng, Beijing, Dongcheng, Beijing, China. Leaders Timeline concerning Olympic recogni ...
, and the
General Administration of Sport of China The General Administration of Sport () is the government agency responsible for sports in mainland China. It is subordinate to the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It also administers the All-China Sports Federation and Chinese O ...
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 Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
s have qualified athletes (two fewer than four years earlier), with
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
making their Winter Olympic débuts. Kenya qualified one athlete, but withdrew.


Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee

2,871
athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...
s from 91 NOCs:


Calendar


Medal table

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
finished second with 12 golds and 27 medals overall.
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
finished third with 9 golds and 25 medals overall, and the host nation
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
finished fourth 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 five gold medals were won by the delegation. Traditional Winter powerhouse
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
; 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 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
(34 years).


Podium sweeps


Changes in medal standings

On 29 January 2024, CAS disqualified Kamila Valieva for four years retroactive to 25 December 2021 for an anti-doping rule violation. On 30 January 2024, the ISU reallocated medals in the Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Team event, figure skating team event to upgrade the United States to gold and Japan to silver while downgrading ROC to bronze.


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. Designed by Lin Cunzhen (who previously designed the emblem of the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing), the emblem is a stylised 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 and Shuey Rhon Rhon, 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 Paramount leader, Chinese leader Xi Jinping's policy slogan: 'Building the Common Future of Humanity'.


Viewership

* Independent research conducted on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recorded 2.01 billion viewers across television and digital platforms. * A total of 713 billion minutes of coverage was watched on various Olympic Media Rights Partners' channels, which represents an 18 per cent increase when comparing with the last Winter Olympics.


Broadcasting

In China, domestic rights to these Games were owned by China Media Group (CMG), 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 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 championship game of the National Football League (NFL), and historically the List of most watched television broadcasts in the United States, most-watched television broadcast in the United States annually—as the game's date fell within an ongoing Olympic Games for the first time in its history. Under the NFL's broadcast rights at the time, the rights to the Super Bowl alternated annually between CBS, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and long-time Olympic broadcaster NBC (whose Super Bowl LII, last Super Bowl also fell in a Winter Olympic year, but was held prior to the opening ceremony). To prevent the Games from Counterprogramming (television), competing for viewership and advertising sales with Super Bowl LVI—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 Super Bowl LV, 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 List of Super Bowl lead-out programs, 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 extends the Super Bowl rotation to four networks by adding American Broadcasting Company, ABC and ESPN, thus codifying this scenario by giving NBC rights to the Super Bowl in 2026, 2030, and 2034, all of which are Winter Olympic years. 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 engagement and Streaming media, streaming viewership of the Games. Similar trends were seen in Europe, where amidst falling TV ratings Eurosport reported an eight-fold increase in streaming viewership on its platforms and Discovery+ 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 Cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Women's 15 kilometre skiathlon, 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 in 2008, activists, human rights groups, and diplomats made calls to boycott the Olympic Games when hosted by China. In the aftermath of the 2019 leak of the Xinjiang papers, the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, and the
persecution of Uyghurs in China Since 2014, the government of the People's Republic of China has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang which has often been characterized as persecution or as ...
, 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-owned tabloid ''Global Times'' 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. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (politician), 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 accusing the IOC of "hypocrisy". On 19 November 2021, a group of 17 members of the Lithuanian national parliament Seimas released an official letter encouraging Lithuania to withdraw from the 2022 Winter Olympics due to human rights violations in China. On 3 December 2021, Lithuania was the first nation to announce a diplomatic boycott of the games. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, ''The New York Times'' published a report alleging that China requested Russia to delay the invasion until after the Olympics to avoid damaging the Games' public image. Russia invaded Ukraine just four days after the Games' Closing Ceremony. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Embassy of China, Washington, D.C., Chinese Embassy in Washington, has rejected the claims as "speculations without any basis, and intended to blame-shift and smear China".


American diplomatic boycott

The United States boycott of China's Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympics was predominantly due to Chinese human rights issues, China's human rights issues on topics such as the systematic oppression of the Uyghurs, Chinese Tibetans, Tibetans and the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, protests in Hong Kong in 2019. The Chinese government implemented many coercive activities in those regions, such as the Xinjiang internment camps, reeducation camps, mass detention camps of allegedly over a million uyghurs, and Great Firewall, restricted access to social media.


Key event timeline

In October 2018, American senator Marco Rubio, Jeff Merkley, Senator Jeff Merkley, and Congressmen Jim McGovern (American politician), Jim McGovern and Chris Smith (New Jersey politician), 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; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(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, Joe Biden, President Biden proposed "a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics." The United States was 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 Presidency of Joe Biden, Biden administration officially initiated a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, restricting United States government officials' presence at the games. The attendance of United States at the Olympics, Team USA athletes was not affected by the diplomatic boycott.


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 Olympic Games ran smoothly, such as providing unrestricted internet access to foreign journalists. From China's perspective, the United States was "politicizing sports" with the Biden Boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, accused the United States of violating the spirit of political neutrality endorsed in the
Olympic Charter The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the List of IOC meetings, 136th IOC Session, held by v ...
, 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 have initiated the boycott in the first place. Following the United States' announcement of a diplomatic boycott, a number of countries, including Britain, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, India, Estonia, and Kosovo, also participated. Meanwhile, Austria, Latvia, Slovenia, Sweden, and the Netherlands opted not to send government officials to the event but did not explicitly cite human rights concerns. Instead, they attributed their decisions to factors such as COVID-19 precautions. However, several U.S. allies, including South Korea, Germany, Italy, and France, did not join the boycott.


Environmental impact

An estimated of water was expected to be used to Snowmaking, create snow at the various venues. Pyeongchang, South Korea, which held the 2018 Winter Olympics, previous Winter Olympics, also had a cold but similarly arid climate that required vast quantities of
artificial snow Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...
. Professor Carmen de Jong, a geographer at the University of Strasbourg, 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 (snowboarder), Jamie Anderson compared it to "pretty bulletproof ice" while her teammate Courtney Rummel compared it to the man-made snow in Wisconsin. According to Jules Boykoff 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; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
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 sport governing body, governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded ...
. * Controversy surrounding a ruling of an obstruction in the Short track speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's 5000 metre relay, 5000 metres relay event. * A potential missed call by judges during the Snowboarding at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's slopestyle, men's snowboard slopestyle and Snowboarding at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's halfpipe, men's half pipe event events. * A ruling of a false start in the men's Speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's 500 metres, 500 metres speed skating event. * The disqualification of racers for their uniforms during the Ski jumping at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Mixed team, mixed team normal hill event of ski jumping. * The continued participation of the figure skater Kamila Valieva in the Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Women's singles, 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 (speed skater), Lee Seung-hoon made contact with him and pulled him back, preventing him from winning a bronze medal in the Speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's mass start, 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 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 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'' and Time (magazine), ''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 skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's downhill, alpine 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 said that Kitzbühel#Sport, 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 Cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Women's 15 kilometre skiathlon, 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 Alpine skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's giant slalom, men's giant slalom. Henrik Kristoffersen 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 Website

Beijing 2022
on the IOC Website {{Authority control 2022 Winter Olympics, 2022 in Beijing 2022 in Chinese sport, Winter Olympics 2022 in multi-sport events, Winter Olympics 2022 in winter sports February 2022 sports events in China, Winter Olympics Olympic Games in China Sport in Zhangjiakou Sports competitions in Beijing Winter Olympics by year