The Organizing Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games reported its latest progress at the International Organizing Committee Plenary Session held in Tokyo on the 21st of May, saying that it would deliver a simple, safe, and exciting Olympic event for the world.
The International Organizing Committee President Bach acknowledged the progress made by The Organizing Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and said that the vision of "bringing 300 million people to participate in winter sports" will be a milestone for winter sports worldwide.
After the year-long extension of the Tokyo Olympic Games, which will open on the 23rd, the Olympics will enter 'Beijing time' with the Beijing Winter Olympic Games opening on the 4th of February 2022. Yu Zaiqing, Vice Chairman of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee, and Zhang Qian, Director of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee's External Liaison Department, delivered speeches at the plenary session, focusing on venue and infrastructure development, testing activities and test events, event organization and venue operations, event services, promotion and cultural activities, sustainability and heritage, and prevention and control of COVID-19.
Bach said that the International Organizing Committee would work with the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee to deliver a safe Winter Olympic Games, which will be a milestone for global winter sports with remarkable results in all aspects of preparation, especially in driving 300 million people to participate in winter sports. Samaranch Jr., Coordination Commission Chairman of the International Organizing Committee for Beijing Winter Games, also introduced how everything is on track in the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, despite the challenges of the pandemic.
In his presentation, Zhang Qian said that all 12 competition venues for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games have been completed and certified by international winter sports organizations. The construction and renovation of non-competition venues are also progressing steadily. In this February and April, the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee successfully held testing events for the winter events to effectively test key elements such as venue facilities, competition organization, and emergency drills. From September to December, ten international events and three international training weeks will be held as scheduled to test all elements of the preparation work.
At present, all the competition venues (clusters) teams have been formed and centralized, while the non-competition venue teams are in the progression of setting up. Market development has gained momentum, with five new sponsors added since March, bringing the total number to 45. The number of volunteers for the event has exceeded 1.12 million worldwide.
In terms of promotion and cultural activities, the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee has finalized the medal’s design. The design of the torch was released, and the overall plan for the torch relay was considered and approved by the International Organizing Committee Executive Committee. The creative proposals for the opening and closing ceremonies have also continued to be optimized. The Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee also released the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Report (2020).
The Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee has set up a special group on pandemic prevention and control with the International Olympic Committee and the World Health Organization. It has also set up a domestic pandemic prevention and control task force and expert group with the State Health and Welfare Commission to promote the prevention and control of pandemics at the Winter Olympic Games in collaboration. It attached great importance to safeguarding the health and safety of athletes and other participants in the Games.
The Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee will launch a series of publicity activities during the Tokyo Olympic Games with “Next stop, Beijing!”.