Olympic preparations on track despite COVID-19 challenge

Organizers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games are forging ahead to test venues and ensure safety

Despite the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing is moving full steam ahead with preparations for hosting green and sustainable Winter Olympic Games in 2022.

With venues taking shape, operational staff trained and legacy plans drawn up, the capital is moving forward with co-host Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, in preparing for the Games, even as the ongoing pandemic forces major sporting events to be canceled or delayed.

Preparation of all 13 competition venues, newly built or renovated, will be finished by the end of the year, while planning for post-Games venue operations, recruitment of volunteers and the design of medals and the Olympic torch are all underway and on schedule, Beijing organizers said on Sept 21, just 500 days before the opening ceremony on Feb 4, 2022.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games said that after a short break for Spring Festival, organizers in the Games' three zones－downtown Beijing, the capital's Yanqing district and Zhangjiakou's Chongli district－resumed preparatory work as early as February under vigilant infection control and prevention measures to lay a solid foundation for all the competition venues to be ready for test events by the end of the year.

The Games' global volunteer recruitment drive has received more than 870,000 applications, while a domestic sponsorship program has signed 34 Chinese businesses as marketing partners, the organizing committee said.

Beijing's smooth progress toward becoming the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics, having staged the 2008 Games, has impressed the International Olympic Committee.

"This is something very significant for the entire Olympic movement," said Thomas Bach, IOC president, during an interview aired on China Central Television to mark the 500-day countdown to the opening ceremony.

"When you see the impressive engagement of the Chinese enterprises and the businesses supporting the Olympic Games… when you see the infrastructure, which has been built or is under construction to accommodate the many, many Chinese people who want to practice winter sports. Then, you can only be impressed."

With only two more winters to go before the Games, organizers have been working closely with the IOC, international winter sports governing bodies and other stakeholders to figure out feasible ways to safely stage pre-Games test events, while also training operational staff and volunteers.

"Preparing for the Games is just like running a marathon. We are more than halfway through the race now, but, with the pandemic remaining, we are facing an uphill battle," said Han Zirong, a vice-president and secretary-general of the Beijing 2022 organizing committee.