Beijing is the first city to host the summer and winter Olympic Games. Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. The 2022 Winter Olympics are set to take place this Friday, February 4, through Sunday, February 20, just six months after the Tokyo Summer Games.
Winter Olympics begin tomorrow.
The Games will coincide with the host country’s most important holiday, the Chinese New Year, which begins on February 1, 2022. The 2022 Winter Olympics will be held across three zones, Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou.
–The ice sports will be held in Beijing, China’s capital, as well as four snow events–snowboard big air and freestyle skiing big air, men’s and women’s competitions. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will also take place in Beijing this Friday. The event will be held at the Beijing National Stadium (commonly known as “The Bird’s Nest”).
—Yanqing–a mountainous suburb of China’s capital located approximately 75 km (46.6 miles) northwest of Beijing’s city center–will host Alpine skiing and sliding events (bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge) and will also be the home of the Olympic Village.
—Zhangjiakou, located approximately 180 kilometers northwest of Beijing (111.8 miles), will host most ski and snowboarding events, including freestyle, cross-country, ski jumping, Nordic combined, and biathlon.
Here’s background on the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.
–Twenty-six venues (including training venues) will be running entirely renewable energy.
–More than 346 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports activities since Beijing’s successful bid (in 2015) for the 2022 Winter Games.
–This year’s Torch Relay will visit two cities–Beijing and Zhangjiakou–making it the shortest relay ever. The Olympic torch, called Flying, has a curled ribbon design and is similar to the design of the 2008 torch. The relay started on Wednesday and will be run in only three days.
Bing!
–A giant panda named Bing Dwen Dwen is the official mascot of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Bing means ice, and it symbolizes purity and strength. Dwen Dwen represents children. Overall, the mascot represents the strength and willpower of athletes, and the idea behind it is to promote the Olympic spirit.
–The medals for the event – named Tong Xin, meaning “together as one” – are composed of five rings and a center. The medal design is based on ancient Chinese jade-concentric circle pendants. The five rings on the medal represent the Olympic spirit and grandeur.
–Flag-bearers for the opening of the Winter Olympics are skater Gao Tingyu and skeleton athlete Zhao Dan.
–Water will be required to create artificial snow for the Games. Beijing has reported that 2% of the local water supply will be used for the Olympics. At Zhangjiakou, the figure is 9.8%. And more artificial snow may be seen in future games. A Loughborough University study reported that by 2050, only 10 of the 20 venues that have hosted the Winter Olympics since 1924 will be capable of producing the amount of snow required to hold an international-level competition, such as the Winter Olympics.
Celebration!
–One hundred nine sets of medals will be awarded in the Winter Olympics 2022. That is seven more than the medals awarded at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
–New events to be contested this year include Women’s Monobob, Men’s and Women’s Big Air (Freestyle Skiing), Mixed Team Snowboard Cross, Mixed Team Aerials, Mixed Team Short Track Relay, and Mixed Team Ski Jumping.
–Although most countries will not join the diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympics, concerns about Chinese human rights abuses have threatened to derail Beijing’s goals for the 2022 Olympic Games.
–In the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, the U.S. finished fourth on the medal table with 23 medals (9 gold, eight silver, six bronze). Similar results are expected this year.
–The first Olympic Winter Games with 16 events were held in Chamonix, France in 1924.
–The Olympic motto is Citius – Altius – Fortius which, from Latin, means Faster – Higher – Stronger.
–This year, the Olympics will again be broadcast by NBCUniversal.
The Games will be televised on NBC and USA Network, offering live stream coverage of every event, which will amount to 2,800-plus hours of coverage. Streaming will be available via NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Sports app, FuboTV, and SlingTV.
Here is a list of websites and videos to get your family ready for and involved in the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.
Official video of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games emblem
Beijing 2022 | We Are Ready | Winter Olympics | Great Wall of China | Mutianyu
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: How To Watch The Games
NBC Olympics 2022 Winter Olympics promo
Bing Dwen Dwen- Beijing Winter Olympics mascot
Parents Guide to Watching the Winter Olympics
Winter Olympics for Kids- several Olympics activities for children
