Guangming Daily
Wang Dong & Hou Keke
February 6, 2022
Han Zirong, full-time vice president and secretary-general of the Beijing Organizing Committee, summarized the three main features of the Games: green, high-tech and culturally distinctive, at a press conference jointly organized by the International Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games on February 6.
Jin Boyang of China performs during a free skating match on February 6. Photo by Guo Hongsong, Guangming Daily / Guangming Photo
Han Zirong said that it is the commitment and mission of the Organizing Committee to ensure a safe and smooth event. Their goal is to provide comfortable, warm and convenient services to all the athletes and other members of national delegations.
Han told the press, "The Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee officially launched a high-level coordination mechanism for the event on February 26. Since then, they have conducted effective communication on issues such as event catering, transportation, arrival and departure, security, event organization, and service guarantees to ensure the safety and smoothness of the event. From the official opening of the Winter Olympic Village on January 27 to the official start of the competition on February 2, from the training hall to the competition field, from the Beijing competition area to the Zhangjiakou competition area, all of our major ice and snow venues have been unveiled and tested. Athletes and team officials gave high praise to the venues and shared their good venue experiences."
Han then summarized three main features of the Beijing Winter Olympics by using the word “flavor”,"The first is its green flavor. Eleven of the competition and non-competition venues in Beijing are the legacy of the 2008 Olympic Games. Friends from the media will definitely have different feelings when they revisit the old places. At the same time, we have achieved carbon neutrality through a lot of measures such as low-carbon venues, low-carbon energy, low-carbon transportation. All venues have achieved 100% green power supply, and 80% of the vehicles to be used are clean energy vehicles. The second is its high-tech flavor. We use carbon dioxide ice-making technology to create the 'fastest ice'. We set up weather forecast radar equipment and track weather stations in competition areas in Yanqing and Zhangjiakou to form a weather monitoring network and strive to achieve accurate weather forecast. Broadcasters have also been broadcasting events using 5G technology for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games. The third is its cultural flavor. The design of many venues reflects the characteristics of Chinese culture. For example, the 'Ice Ribbon', 'Snow Flying Sky' and 'Snow Ruyi' contain Chinese elements; the emblems of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games mirror the perfect combination of Chinese calligraphy and sports; the image of the mascot ‘Bing Dwen Dwen’ comes from China's national treasure— giant panda, and the design of ‘Shuey Rhon Rhon’ is inspired by the Chinese lantern, which symbolizes unity and joy."
Christophe Dubi, Olympic Games Executive Director of IOC, highly praised the Beijing Winter Olympics. He said that there is an old Chinese saying which goes “It is better to see something once, than to hear about it a thousand times.” Now he has seen all the venues and learned everything about the venues in detail. In fact, he visited Yanqing and Zhangjiakou in 2015, so he can feel the difference between the present and the past, especially in terms of innovation, which exceeds his expectations. In terms of legacy, he believed, both this event and the post-Games venue utilization have been done very well.
Rewritten by Shi Ruwen, Lu Shunjie and He Yan, Fudan University.
