The Beijing Winter Olympics begin on Tuesday with a month-long diplomatic boycott, the fate of the coronavirus and Peng Shuai weighing heavily on all sports. On 4–20 February the Chinese capital will become the first host of the Winter and Summer Olympics, having staged the Games in 2008, which has since been seen as the party becoming the world’s second largest economy.
This time around, China’s communist rulers hope the games will inspire 300 million winter sports enthusiasts and help unite the world in the face of the pandemic.
With the games taking place inside a “bubble” of around 3,000 athletes with non-competitors, it is the most restricted mass sporting event since COVID-19.
Organizers have pledged to make the Games “green, inclusive, open and clean”, but environmentalists claim that haze and smog remain a constant threat in China, especially in winter.
Pointing to the controversies surrounding the Games, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told state media: “The political manipulation of some Western politicians will not harm the enthusiasm of the Olympics, but will only expose their own ugliness.”
– ‘were worried’ –
Rights groups have long called for a boycott of China’s human rights record, particularly its treatment of Uighur Muslims in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Last month the Biden administration said it would not send US diplomatic or official representation to the Games over China’s “ongoing genocide in Xinjiang and crimes against humanity and other human rights abuses”.
Beijing warned that the United States would “pay the price” but that did not stop Australia, Britain and Canada from engaging in a diplomatic boycott. Athletes from those countries will still compete.
China is also facing demands to guarantee the safety of tennis player Peng.
The 35-year-old, a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion, was not heard for nearly three weeks after former deputy prime minister Zhang Gaoli was accused of sexual harassment.
Peng has since reappeared in public in China, but doubts remain about how free and secure he is. She will play a big role in the games.
Then there is coronavirus. China, where the virus emerged in late 2019, has adopted a zero-Covid strategy with stringent border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns. Xi’an, a city with a population of 1.3 million, has been locked down for about two weeks.
It is not believed that Omicron has run a small outbreak by the standards of other countries, but the highly contagious version presents a new challenge for officials and sports.
O’Micron has already affected the Olympics and NHL players are no longer coming.
David Shoemaker, chief executive and secretary general of the Canadian Olympic Committee, acknowledged that “we are concerned”.
“We believe these games can still be safely scheduled, but we are taking it day by day,” he told local media.
The Olympics, which take place just six months after the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games, will be held in a “closed-loop” bubble, where all athletes must be vaccinated, there will be daily COVID tests and no one is allowed to be left in the bubble. Won’t happen.
– Gujarat to illuminate Beijing –
The Games will be held in three “zones” and will use new venues and some from 2008, including the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies.
China has committed to keeping spectators – a step ahead of Tokyo – but it is still unclear how many will be there and none will be from overseas.
In terms of stars, American ski ace Mikaela Shiffrin is chasing a third Olympic gold, but her preparation has been affected by Covid after testing positive.
There were also doubts about “Ice Prince” Yuzuru Hanyu after an ankle injury, but he put on a stellar performance at Japan’s recent national ice-skating championships as he secured his third Olympic gold.
There will also be a lot of interest in American snowboarder Chloe Kim, who melted hearts when she won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics at the age of 17, while Eileen Gu seems to be one of the faces of the Games.
The 18-year-old grade-A student and model, born and raised in California, emigrated from the United States to represent China and is a hot favorite for gold in freestyle skiing.
Sports forecaster Gracenote predicts that Norway will top the medal tally for the second consecutive Winter Games.
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