The2022 Winter Olympics, officially called theXXIV Olympic Winter Games (Chinese:第二十四届冬季奥林匹克运动会;pinyin:Dì Èrshísì Jiè Dōngjì Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì) and commonly known asBeijing 2022 (北京2022), were an international wintermulti-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 inBeijing, China, and surrounding areas with competition in selected events beginning 2 February 2022.[1] It was the 24th edition of theWinter Olympic Games.
Beijing was selected as host city on 31 July 2015 at the128th IOC Session inKuala Lumpur, Malaysia, marking its second time hosting the Olympics, and the last of three consecutive Olympics hosted inEast Asia following the2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, and the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Having previously hosted the2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The venues for the Games were concentrated around Beijing, its suburbYanqing District, andZhangjiakou, with some events (including the ceremonies and curling) repurposing venues originally built for Beijing 2008 (such asBeijing National Stadium and theBeijing National Aquatics Centre).
The Games featured a record 109 events across 15 disciplines, withbig air freestyle skiing andwomen's monobob making their Olympic debuts as medal events, as well as several new mixed competitions. A total of 2,871 athletes representing 91 teams competed in the Games, withHaiti andSaudi Arabia making their Winter Olympic debut.
Beijing's hosting of the Games was subject to variousconcerns and controversies including those related tohuman rights violations in China, such as thepersecution of Uyghurs in China, which led to calls for a boycott of the games.[2][3] At least ten countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, and Belgium, participated in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics, sending athletes but not government officials. Several other countries, including Slovenia, Sweden, and the Netherlands, also did not send officials but cited its decision was due to COVID-19 precautions. Meanwhile, the European Union remained divided, with countries such as Italy, Germany, France, Poland, and Finland refusing to join the U.S.-led diplomatic boycott, and preventing a unified EU-wide boycott.[4]
Like theSummer Olympics held six months earlier in Tokyo, the 2022 Winter Olympics took place during theCOVID-19 pandemic and were largely closed to the public, with only selected events open to invited guests at a reduced capacity. To minimize the risk of virus transmission, China implemented strict health and safety measures, including a closed-loop system, frequent testing, and quarantine protocols for participants. Consequently, no major outbreaks were reported during the Games.[5]
Norway finished at the top of the medal table for the third successive Winter Olympics, winning a total of 37 medals, of which 16 were gold, setting a new record for the largest number of gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics. The host nationChina finished fourth with nine gold medals and also eleventh place by total medals won, marking its most successful performance in Winter Olympics history.[6][7][8]
The bidding calendar was announced by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) in October 2012, with the application deadline set for 14 November 2013.[9] The IOC Executive Board reviewed the bids from all applicant cities on 7 July 2014 and selected three cities,Oslo (Norway),Almaty (Kazakhstan), andBeijing (China), as the final candidates.[10]
Severalbid cities withdrew their bids during the process, citing the high costs or the lack of local support and funding for hosting the Games.[11] TheOslo bid, considered the clear frontrunner, was canceled in the wake of a series of revelations about the IOC's demands for luxury treatment of IOC members that strongly turned public opinion and the parliamentary majority against the bid. The city withdrew its application for government funding after a majority of theNorwegian parliament had stated their intention to decline the application. In the days before the decision, Norwegian media had revealed the IOC's "diva-like demands for luxury treatment" for the IOC members themselves, such as special lanes on all roads only to be used by IOC members and cocktail reception at the Royal Palace with drinks paid for by the royal family. The IOC also "demanded control over all advertising space throughout Oslo" to be used exclusively by IOC's sponsors, something that is not possible in Norway because the government doesn't own or control "all advertising space throughout Oslo" and has no authority to give a foreign private organization exclusive use of a city and the private property within it.[12] Several commentators pointed out that such demands were unheard of in a western democracy;Slate described the IOC as a "notoriously ridiculous organization run by grifters and hereditary aristocrats."[13][14][15][16] Ole Berget, deputy minister in the Finance Ministry, said "the IOC's arrogance was an argument held high by a lot of people."[17] The country's largest newspaper commented that "Norway is a rich country, but we don't want to spend money on wrong things, like satisfying the crazy demands from IOC apparatchiks. These insane demands that they should be treated like the king of Saudi Arabia just won't fly with the Norwegian public."[17]
Beijing was selected as the host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics after beating Almaty by four votes on 31 July 2015 at the128thIOC Session inKuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Location of the three Beijing 2022 clustersBeijing National StadiumNational Aquatics CenterBeijing National Speed Skating OvalShougang Big Air Venue
In February 2021, Beijing announced that the 26 venues (including training venues) for these sports would be running on entirelyrenewable energy.[18][19]
There were three different clusters of venues designed and constructed for the 2022 Winter Olympics, each respectively known as the Beijing Zone, the Zhangjiakou Zone, and the Yanging Zone.[20]
Venues in the Beijing Zone exist in different conditions; some were recently constructed exclusively for the 2022 games, while the rest were renovated fromthe 2008 Summer Olympics or other existing sites.[21] The Beijing Zone of the 2022 Winter Olympics consisted of six competition venues and was where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, for both the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, would take place.[21]
Five ice events were held at theOlympic Green, theCapital Indoor Stadium and the BeijingWukesong Sports Center, which had been some of the main venues of the2008 Summer Olympics. The Big Air snowboarding and freestyle skiing events were held in a former industrial area inShijingshan District, atWestern Hills area.[22] Since the end of 2009, theBeijing Olympic Village apartments on the Olympic Green had been transformed into a residential area. There was therefore a need to build another Olympic Village on a smaller scale for the Winter Olympics. These new buildings are located in the southern area of Olympic Green on the neighbourhood of theNational Olympic Sports Center and will serves asChinese Olympic Committee residential complex for those athletes who will undergo training sessions at the nearby venues.[23]
TheBeijing National Stadium was an iconic venue in the Beijing Zone, and it is also known as theBird's Nest (鸟巢;Niǎocháo). The Beijing National Stadium was the site that hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but it was no longer a venue for any competition in 2022.[24]
TheNational Aquatics Center (国家游泳中心 Guójiā Yóuyǒng Zhōngxīn /gwor-jyaa yoh-yong jong-sshin/), also known as theWater Cube, was the venue forCurling competition.[25] In the 2022 Winter Olympics, the National Aquatics Center became the first Olympic venue to incorporate a curling track in the swimming pool.[26]
TheShougang Big Air (首钢滑雪大跳台中心 Shǒugāng Huáxuě Dàtiàotái Zhōngxīn /shoh-gung hwaa-sshwair daa-tyao-teye jong-sshin/) was a newly constructed site for the 2022 Winter Olympics.[27] The Shougang Big Air hosted thefreestyle skiing andsnowboarding events.
TheWukesong Sports Centre (五棵松体育馆 Wǔkēsōng Tǐyùguǎn /woo-ker-song tee-yoo-gwan/) was under an 8-month renovation for the 2022 Winter Olympics. In February 2022, the Wukesong Sports Centre hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics Men's and Women'sice hockey tournaments.[28]
TheNational Indoor Stadium (国家体育馆 Guójiā Tǐyùguǎn /gwor-jyaa tee-yoo-gwan/) was the second venue for theice hockey tournament for the 2022 Winter Olympics, besides the Wukesong Sports Centre.[29]
TheNational Speed Skating Oval (国家速滑馆 Guójiā Sùhuáguǎn /gwor-jyaa soo-hwaa-gwan/) has the nickname "Ice Ribbon" due to its exterior design. The National Speed Skating Oval was the venue forspeed skating in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
All other skiing events were held inTaizicheng Area inChongli District,Zhangjiakou city,Hebei province. It is 220 km (140 mi) from downtown Beijing and 130 km (81 mi) away fromXiaohaituo Mountain Area. The ski resort earned over¥ 1.54 billion (US$237.77 million) in tourism during the 2015–16 winter season for a 31.6% growth over the previous season. In 2016, it was announced that Chongli received 2.185 million tourists, an increase of 30% from the previous season, during the first snow season after winning the Olympic bid. The snow season lasted for five months from November, during which Chongli has hosted thirty-six competitions and activities, such as Far East Cup and Children Skiing International Festival. A total of twenty-three skiing camps have also been set up, attracting the participation of 3,800 youths. All the venues construction started in November 2016 and was finished by the end of 2020 to enable the city to hold test events.[34][needs update]
The design for the Games' medals was unveiled on 26 October 2021. The concept is based on the 2008 Summer Olympics medals and Chinese astronomy and astrology as the games were held coinciding with theChinese New Year festivities.[35]
The torch relay started on 18 October 2021 in Greece. On 20 October 2021, it was announced that the local leg would start on 2 February and end on 4 February 2022 during the Opening Ceremonies. The local leg only visited two cities:Beijing andZhangjiakou.[37] Activists staged a protest at the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Greece.[38]
The inclusion and television appearance of Qi Fabao, aPeople's Liberation Army commander well known in China for his involvement in the2020–2021 China–India skirmishes, as one of 1,200 torchbearers have been controversial, with India launching a diplomatic boycott of the Games as a result.[39]
On 29 September 2021, the IOC announced biosecurity protocols for the Games; all athletes were required to remain within thebio-secure bubble (referred to as a "closed-loop management system") for the duration of their participation, which included dailyCOVID-19 testing, and only being allowed to travel to and from Games-related venues. Unless they are fully-vaccinated or have a valid medical exemption, all athletes were required to quarantine for 21 days upon their arrival. Mirroring a protocol adopted for the 2020 Summer Olympics before they were movedbehind closed doors, the IOC also announced that only residents of the People's Republic of China would be permitted to attend the Games as spectators.[42][43]
On 23 December 2021, the United States'National Hockey League (NHL) and its labor union, theNational Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), announced that they had agreed to withdraw their players' participation in the Games' men's hockey tournament, citing concerns over COVID-19 and the need to make up games that had been postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak[44] As part of their latestcollective agreement with the NHLPA, the NHL had agreed to accommodate a break for the Olympics and player participation for the first time since 2014.[45]
On 17 January 2022, amid increasing lockdowns across China and the first detected case of theOmicron variant in Beijing, it was announced that ticket sales to the general public were cancelled, and that limited numbers of spectators would be admitted by invitation only. These, therefore, became the second Olympics in a row that were closed to the general public.[46] In the lead-up to the Games, organizers stated that they had aimed for at least 30% capacity at each venue, divided equally between spectators from within the "closed loop" (including dignitaries, delegations, and the press), and invited guests from outside of it (including local residents, school students, winter sports enthusiasts, and marketing partners). At least 150,000 spectators from outside the "closed loop" were expected to attend. Spectators were only present at events held in Beijing and Zhangjiakou; all events in Yanqing were held behind closed doors with no spectators permitted.[47][48]
Everyone present at the Games, including athletes, staff, and attendees, were required to use the My2022mobile app as part of the biosecurity protocols, which was used for submissions ofcustoms declarations and health records for travel to the Games, daily health self-reporting, and records of COVID-19 vaccination and testing. The app also provided news and information relating to the Games, andmessaging functions. Concerns were raised about the security of the My2022 app and how information collected by it would be used, so several delegations advised their athletes to bringburner phones and laptops for the duration of the games.[49][50]
Because of the strict COVID-19 protocol, some top athletes, considered to be medal contenders, were not able to travel to China after having tested positive, even if asymptomatic. The cases included Austrian ski jumperMarita Kramer, the leader of the World Cup ranking,[51] and Russian skeletonistNikita Tregubov, silver medalist of the 2018 Winter Olympics.[52]
The newBeijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway opened in late 2019, starting fromBeijing North railway station and ending atZhangjiakou railway station. It was built for speeds of up to 350 km/h (220 mph); with this new road system, the travel time from Beijing to Zhangjiakou was decreased to around 50 minutes. A dedicated train for the Winter Olympics began to run on this line in January 2022, featuring a mobile television studio that supports live broadcast on the train.[53]
On 31 December 2021, theBeijing Subway reached the planned 783 km (487 mi) at the bid book.[54]
Planned before the city was awarded the rights to the Games, theBeijing Daxing International Airport opened in 2019, and due to the strategic location, it would be the main focus for the arrival and entry of delegations on Chinese soil. Chinese officials had hoped that this airport would replace Beijing Capital International Airport as the country's main hub for arrivals and departures between its opening and the Winter Games and reduce the international and domestic demands of the older airport. This airport replaced the oldBeijing Nanyuan Airport which was out of date and was on the list of the most dangerous airports in the world because of its location and since its opening, it has been sharing the local and international demands of the city and the country with the olderBeijing Capital International Airport.[55] However, according to the COVID-19 pandemic security protocol manual issued byBOCWOG and International Olympic Committee, all foreign delegations could only enter and leave Beijing viathe Capital International Airport due to its smaller size and the fact that it is closer to the city center and Olympic Green and has specific isolation areas and a better health protocols.[56]
The original estimated budget for the Games was US$3.9 billion, less than one-tenth of the $43 billion spent on the 2008 Summer Olympics.[57] Although there were reports that the games might cost more than US$38.5 billion,[58] the final official budget was US$2.24 billion and turning a profit of $52 million, of which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) donated $10.4 million of that surplus to the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) to help with the development of sport in China.[59][60]
Winter Olympics countdown clock at Wangfujing Dept Store (26 December 2021)A scene from the opening ceremony; in lieu of acauldron, the Olympic torch was mounted in the centre of a large snowflake sculpture
The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 4 February 2022 atBeijing National Stadium.
Amid the political controversies and tensions impacting the Games, IOC presidentThomas Bach instructed athletes to "show how the world would look like, if we all respect the same rules and each other", and pledged that "there [would] be no discrimination for any reason whatsoever."[61]
The final seven torchbearers reflected multiple decades of Chinese athletes, beginning with the 1950s, and concluding with two skiers competing in the Games—21 year-old skier Zhao Jiawen fromShanxi (the first Chinese athlete to compete inNordic combined), and 20-year-oldDinigeer Yilamujiang from theXinjiang autonomous region (cross-country, and the first Chinese cross-country skier to win a medal in anISF event).[62][63]
For the first time in Olympic history, the final torchbearers did not light a cauldron: instead, they fitted the torch into the centre of a large stylisedsnowflake, constructed from placards bearing the names of the delegations competing in the Games.[63] Three similar snowflakes were also erected as public flames, with one outside of the stadium lit by a volunteer, one in Yanqing District lit by speed skaterYu Jongjun, and the third in Zhangjiakou lit by skierWang Wezhuo.[62]
The closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics was held at Beijing National Stadium on 20 February 2022; it included a cultural presentation, closing remarks, and the formal handover toMilan andCortina d'Ampezzo as hosts of the2026 Winter Olympics.[64]
The 2022 Winter Olympics included a record 109 events over 15 disciplines in seven sports.[65] There are seven new medal events, including men's and women's big air freestyle, women'smonobob, mixed team competitions in freestyle skiing aerials, ski jumping, and snowboard cross, and the mixed relay in short track speed skating.[66]
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each discipline.
In October 2016, theInternational Ski Federation (FIS) announced plans to begin permitting women's competitions inNordic combined, to contest the discipline at the Olympic level for the first time in Beijing.[67] In November 2017, a further three events were put forward by the FIS for possible Olympic inclusion: aski jumping mixed team competition and men's and women'sbig air infreestyle skiing.[68] At their May 2018Congress at the Costa Navarino resort inMessenia,Greece, the FIS submitted several additional events for consideration, including a proposal to maketelemark skiing an Olympic discipline for the first time in Beijing, with proposed competitions to include the men's and women's parallel sprint and a mixed team parallel sprint. The Congress also approved to submit theaerials mixed team event, and several newsnowboarding events: the men and women'ssnowboard cross team event; a mixed team alpine parallel event; the men's and women's parallel special slalom; and a mixed team parallel special slalom event.[69] The individual parallel special slalom events were featured at the2014 Winter Olympics inSochi,Russia, but were dropped from the Olympic program in2018 to make way for the snowboardingbig air competitions.[citation needed]
TheInternational Luge Federation (FIL) proposed the addition of six new events, includingnatural track luge (men's and women's singles), a women's doubles competition on the artificial track, and sprint events (men, women, and doubles) on the artificial track.[70][71]
Inbiathlon, a single mixed relay was proposed by theInternational Biathlon Union (IBU) to complement the four-person mixed relay that featured at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[70] Also, theInternational Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) proposed a new team event, but there was no plan to introduce a four-woman bobsleigh event despite the recommendation from the federation's executive board to propose such an event in the interests of gender equality.[70]
In July 2018, the IOC announced changes to the program for the 2022 Winter Olympics as part of a goal to increase the participation of women, and appeal to younger audiences. Seven new medal events were added (expanding the total program to 109 events), including men's and women's big air freestyle, women'smonobob, mixed team competitions in freestyle skiing aerials, ski jumping, and snowboard cross, and the mixed relay in short track speed skating.[73] Women's Nordic combined was not added; Nordic combined remains the only Winter Olympic sport only contested by men.[74]
On 9 December 2019, theWorld Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from all international sport for four years, after the Russian government was found to have tampered with lab data that it provided to WADA in January 2019 as a condition of theRussian Anti-Doping Agency being reinstated. As a result of the ban, WADA planned to allow individually clearedRussian athletes to take part in the2020 Summer Olympics under a neutral banner, as instigated at the2018 Winter Olympics, but they were not permitted to compete in team sports. WADA Compliance Review Committee head Jonathan Taylor stated that the IOC would not be able to use "Olympic Athletes from Russia" (OAR) again, as it did in 2018, emphasizing that neutral athletes cannot be portrayed as representing a specific country.[75][76][77] Russia later filed an appeal to theCourt of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the WADA decision.[78]
After reviewing the case on appeal, CAS ruled on 17 December 2020 to reduce the penalty WADA had placed on Russia. Instead of banning Russia from sporting events, the ruling allowed Russia to participate in the Olympics and other international events, but for two years, the team cannot use the Russian name, flag, or anthem and must present themselves as "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team." The ruling does allow for team uniforms to display "Russia" on the uniform as well as the use of the Russian flag colors within the uniform's design, although the name should be up to equal predominance as the "Neutral Athlete/Team" designation.[79]
On 19 February 2021, it was announced that Russia would compete under the acronym "ROC" after the name of theRussian Olympic Committee although the name of the committee itself in full could not be used to refer to the delegation. Russia would be represented by the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee.[80]
On 8 September 2021, the IOC Executive Board suspended theOlympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) through at least the end of 2022 for violations of theOlympic Charter, over its refusal to send athletes to the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo due to COVID-19 pandemic-related concerns. North Korean athletes would be allowed to participate under the Olympic flag.[81][82][83][84] However, North Korean Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee said in a letter to the2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, theChinese Olympic Committee, and theGeneral Administration of Sport of China on 7 January 2022 that "Due to the "action of hostile forces" and the COVID-19 pandemic, they would not be able to participate in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics."[85] In addition, the North Korean Olympic Committee said "supports all the work of our comrades in China to host a grand and wonderful Olympics. The United States and its followers are plotting anti-Chinese conspiracies to obstruct the successful hosting of the Olympics, but this is an insult to the spirit of the Olympic Charter and an act to damage China's international image. We firmly oppose and reject these actions."[86]
Competition began two days before the opening ceremony on 2 February, and ended on 20 February 2022.[184] Organizers went through several revisions of the schedule, and each edition needed to be approved by the IOC.[185]
Norway finished at the top of the medal table for the second successive Winter Olympics, winning a total of 37 medals, of which 16 were gold, setting a new record for the largest number of gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics.[6]Germany finished second with 12 golds and 27 medals overall.United States finished third with 9 golds and 25 medals overall, and the host nationChina finished fourth with nine gold medals, marking their most successful performance in Winter Olympics history.[6] The team representing theROC ended up with the second largest number of medals won at the Games, with 32, but finished ninth on the medal table, as only five gold medals were won by the delegation. Traditional Winter powerhouseCanada; despite having won 26 medals, only four of them were gold, resulting in a finish outside the top ten in the medal table for the first time since1988 (34 years).[186][187]
On 29 January 2024, CAS disqualifiedKamila Valieva for four years retroactive to 25 December 2021 for an anti-doping rule violation.[190] On 30 January 2024, the ISU reallocated medals in thefigure skating team event to upgrade the United States to gold and Japan to silver while downgrading ROC to bronze.[191]
The emblem for the 2022 Winter Olympics, "Winter Dream" (冬梦), was unveiled on 15 December 2017 at theBeijing National Aquatics Center. Designed by Lin Cunzhen (who previously designed the emblem of the2014 Summer Youth Olympics inNanjing), the emblem is a stylised rendition of the Chinese character for winter (冬) as a multi-coloured ribbon, reflecting upon the landscapes of the host region. The beginning of the ribbon symbolizes an ice skater, while the end of the ribbon symbolizes a skier. The emblem carries a blue, red, and yellow colour scheme: the latter two colours represent both theflag of China, and "passion, youth, and vitality".[192]
Bing Dwen Dwen was the mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Bing Dwen Dwen was chosen from thousands of Chinese designs in 35 countries worldwide. "Bing" (冰) means ice in Chinese, and was meant to suggest purity and strength. "Dwen Dwen" (墩墩) was meant to suggest robustness, liveliness, and youth. Bing Dwen Dwen's astronaut-like clothes implied that the Winter Olympics embraced new technologies and created possibilities.[193]
The Games' official slogan, "Together for a Shared Future" (Chinese:一起向未来;pinyin:Yīqǐ xiàng wèilái), was announced on 17 September 2021; organisers stated that the slogan was intended to reflect "the power of the Games to overcome global challenges as a community".[194]
The slogan was compared in media withChinese leaderXi Jinping's policy slogan: 'Building the Common Future of Humanity'.[195]
Independent research conducted on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recorded 2.01 billion viewers across television and digital platforms.[196][197]
A total of 713 billion minutes of coverage was watched on various Olympic Media Rights Partners' channels, which represents an 18 per cent increase when comparing with the last Winter Olympics.[196]
In China, domestic rights to these Games were owned byChina Media Group (CMG), with rights being sublicensed byChina Mobile's Migu streaming service.[198] In some countries, broadcast rights to the 2022 Winter Olympics were already agreed upon through existing long-term deals. In France and the United Kingdom, these were the first Games whereEurosport would be the main rightsholder; theBBC sub-licensed a limited amount of coverage on free-to-air television, as part of a deal in which the BBC sold the pay-TV rights to the 2018 and 2020 Games to Eurosport.[199][200] In January 2022, the BBC announced it would broadcast over 300 hours of free-to-air live coverage, as well as highlights programmes.[201][202]
The scheduling of the Games impacted the U.S. broadcast rights to theSuper Bowl—the championship game of theNational Football League (NFL), and historically themost-watched television broadcast in the United States annually—as the game's date fell within an ongoing Olympic Games for the first time in its history. Under the NFL's broadcast rights at the time, the rights to the Super Bowl alternated annually betweenCBS,Fox, and long-time Olympic broadcasterNBC (whoselast Super Bowl also fell in a Winter Olympic year, but was held prior to the opening ceremony).[203] To prevent the Games fromcompeting for viewership and advertising sales withSuper Bowl LVI—which was scheduled for 13 February 2022 at Los Angeles'SoFi Stadium—CBS and NBC announced in March 2019 that they would invert the rights for Super Bowl LVI andLV (2021), so that both the 2022 Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LVI would be broadcast by NBC.[204][205] In a break from the established practice of airingpremieres or special episodes of entertainment programmes after the Super Bowl to take advantage of its large audience, NBC aired itsprime time coverage for Day 10 of the Games immediately following Super Bowl LVI.[206] Furthermore, the NFL's new media rights beginning in 2023 extends the Super Bowl rotation to four networks by addingABC andESPN, thus codifying this scenario by giving NBC rights to the Super Bowl in 2026, 2030, and 2034, all of which are Winter Olympic years.[207][208]
These Games also confirmed an ongoing trend in U.S. viewership of the Olympics; while television viewership had seen a further decline, they were offset by increases insocial media engagement andstreaming viewership of the Games. Similar trends were seen in Europe, where amidst falling TV ratings Eurosport reported an eight-fold increase in streaming viewership on its platforms andDiscovery+ over Pyeongchang 2018.[209][210][211]
Demonstration of Tibetans and Uyghurs in front of theBrandenburg Gate inBerlin against the Olympic Games in Beijing 2022Protest by Tibetan independence groups against Chinese Winter Olympics (2022) held in Lausanne at the headquarters of the IOC
During the bidding process, critics questioned the Beijing bid, arguing that the proposed outdoor venue sites do not have reliable snowfall in winter for snow sports. Concerns have been raised that snow may need to be transported to the venues at great cost and with uncertain environmental consequences.[212][213]
Additional concerns about weather conditions were raised during certain events. Swedish athleteFrida Karlsson nearly collapsed after thewomen's skiathlon due to low temperatures.[214] Afterwards, the Swedes considered putting in a request for races to be moved to earlier in the day, stating that the afternoons and early evenings scheduled for European TV audiences were hurting the performance of the athletes.[215]
As in 2008, activists, human rights groups, and diplomats made calls to boycott the Olympic Games when hosted by China. In the aftermath of the 2019 leak of theXinjiang papers, the2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, and thepersecution of Uyghurs in China,[216][217] calls were made for a boycott of the 2022 Games.[218][219][220] Because of these issues, the selection of an athlete from Xinjiang as part of the final torchbearers received a mixed reaction.[221][222][63]
In February 2021, theChinese Communist Party-owned tabloidGlobal Times warned that China could "seriously sanction any country that follows a boycott."[223][224] In March 2021, Chinese spokesperson Guo Weimin stated that any attempt to boycott the Olympics would be doomed to fail.[225] China's Foreign MinisterWang Yi also told theEU's foreign policy chiefJosep Borrell that they should attend the games to "enhance exchanges on winter sport", and to "foster new highlights" in bilateral cooperation.[226]
The IOC stated that it remains neutral in all global political issues and that the award of hosting the games does not signal agreement with the host country's political or social situation or its human rights standards. The committee's response toAgence France-Presse read: "We've repeatedly said it: the IOC isn't responsible for the government. It only gives the rights and opportunity for the staging of the Olympic Games. That doesn't mean we agree with all the politics, all the social or human rights issues in the country. And it doesn't mean we approve of all the human rights violations of a person or people." The statement attracted criticism, withPacific University professorJules Boykoff accusing the IOC of "hypocrisy".[226]
On 19 November 2021, a group of 17 members of the Lithuanian national parliamentSeimas released an official letter encouragingLithuania to withdraw from the 2022 Winter Olympics due to human rights violations in China.[227] On 3 December 2021, Lithuania was the first nation to announce a diplomatic boycott of the games.[228]
After theRussian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022,The New York Times published a report alleging that China requested Russia to delay the invasion until after the Olympics to avoid damaging the Games' public image.[229] Russia invadedUkraine just four days after the Games' Closing Ceremony. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for theChinese Embassy in Washington, has rejected the claims as "speculations without any basis, and intended to blame-shift and smear China".[230]
In November 2021,President Biden proposed "a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics."[234] The United States was aware of the prospective harsh punishment of being suspended by the National Olympic Committee and was careful regarding the scale and severity of the boycott.[234]
In December 2021, theBiden administration officially initiated a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, restricting United States government officials' presence at the games.[235] The attendance ofTeam USA athletes was not affected by the diplomatic boycott.
The IOC remained relatively neutral regarding the letter from CECC or the boycott.[236] The IOC negotiated with the Chinese government on specific protocols to ensure the Olympic Games ran smoothly, such as providing unrestricted internet access to foreign journalists.[234]
From China's perspective, the United States was "politicizing sports" with the Biden Boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.[237] TheChinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson,Zhao Lijian, accused the United States of violating the spirit of political neutrality endorsed in theOlympic Charter, emphasizing that an Olympic game should not be a place for political posturing and manipulation.[238] China announced that the United States was not yet officially invited by the host committee; thus, the United States should not have initiated the boycott in the first place.[239]
Following the United States' announcement of a diplomatic boycott, a number of countries, including Britain, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, India, Estonia, and Kosovo, also participated. Meanwhile, Austria, Latvia, Slovenia, Sweden, and the Netherlands opted not to send government officials to the event but did not explicitly cite human rights concerns. Instead, they attributed their decisions to factors such as COVID-19 precautions. However, several U.S. allies, including South Korea, Germany, Italy, and France, did not join the boycott.[234][240][241][242][243]
An estimated 49 million US gallons (190,000,000 L; 41,000,000 imp gal) of water was expected to be used tocreate snow at the various venues.Pyeongchang, South Korea, which held theprevious Winter Olympics, also had a cold but similarly arid climate that required vast quantities ofartificial snow. Professor Carmen de Jong, a geographer at theUniversity of Strasbourg, argued that these would be the "most unsustainable" Winter Olympics in history. The IOC stated that "a series of water-conserving and recycling designs have been put into place to optimize water usage for snowmaking, human consumption, and other purposes.[244][needs update]
Artificial snow forms a harder piste compared to real snow. It is often favoured by professionals for being fast and "hyper-grippy" but also raises their fear of falling on it.[244][245] American snowboarderJamie Anderson compared it to "pretty bulletproof ice" while her teammate Courtney Rummel compared it to the man-made snow inWisconsin.[245]
According toJules Boykoff in February 2022, Beijing's electricity came largely from coal and this coal power was what supported the construction of some Olympic venues. To offset emissions from construction and air travel, China had planted roughly 60 million trees.[246]
U.S. skaterJoey Mantia alleged that South Korean skaterLee Seung-hoon made contact with him and pulled him back, preventing him from winning a bronze medal in theMass Start final. Mantia lost by a 0.002-second margin. Team USA challenged the result, but Lee was awarded the bronze medal.[260][261][262]
The food and overall conditions inquarantine hotels given to athletes testing positive for COVID-19 were criticised early on.[263][264] Team officials from delegations including Belgium, Germany, Poland, Finland and the Russian Olympic Committee all brought up issues their athletes faced in quarantine hotels, among them were the lack of internet connections, low-quality food, insufficient facilities and no training equipment.[265][266][267]
With China'sZero-COVID policy, there were issues raised about the process of quarantine at the games.[263] On 2 February, Belgian skeleton athleteKim Meylemans posted on social media and was in tears about the conditions she faced while in quarantine.[268][269] According toNewsweek andTime, the hotels' conditions appeared to have improved after the athletes' complaints were made public.[264][270]
There were some complaints about the food served outside of quarantine. Germany'salpine coach Christian Schweiger called the catering "extremely questionable" for not having hot meals but he echoed athletes from several nations that the food at the nearby Athletes' Village was great.[271] The US and South Korean teams elected to bring their own food.[272] Austrian skierMatthias Mayer said thatKitzbuehel would have offered "the best of the best" but also that a hot meal right before a race might not bring out top performances.[271][273]
Other complaints included low temperatures and related safety concerns. Sweden'sFrida Karlsson nearly collapsed at the conclusion of thewomen's skiathlon cross-country race. Afterwards, her team considered requesting that races held in afternoons and evenings for European TV audiences be moved to earlier during the day.[215][214] Some athletes resorted to putting tape on their faces and noses to protect them from the bitter cold.[274] Heavy snowfall disrupted a number of competition and training events on 13 February. Thirty-three skiers did not finish their first run of themen's giant slalom.Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway said that he "couldn't see shit." Switzerland'sLoic Meillard said, "It's not what I was hoping for but it's part of the game ... we've raced in conditions like that before."[275]
^Originally simplyZhuangke. It is said that the villageDazhuangke has been officially renamedXidazhuangke/West Dazhuangke to avoid confusion with the otherDazhuangke [Wikidata], also inYanqing District.Zhuangke (庄窠) approximately means peasant dwellings/households in certain dialects ofJin Chinese;Zhuangke (庄科) is a Mandarin corruption of Jin ChineseZhuangke (庄窠).
^Makeshov, Kabyl (20 January 2022)."Кыргызстан кышкы олимпиада оюндарында" [Kyrgyzstan at the Winter Olympics].BBC News (in Kyrgyz). London, United Kingdom.Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved20 January 2022.
^"OCM confident 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be a success".Bernama. Kauala Lumpur, Malaysia. 19 January 2022.Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved19 January 2022.Malaysia will be represented by two alpine skiers – Jeffrey Webb, 23, in men's slalom and Aruwin Idami Salehhuddin, 17, in women's slalom and giant slalom – at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
^"Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Mascot".Olympics.com.Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved25 November 2021. "In Mandarin Chinese (the official dialect of China), "Bing" has several meanings, though the most common is ice. The word also symbolises purity and strength, while "Dwen Dwen" means robust and lively, and also represents children."
^"Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on the BBC". BBC. 12 January 2022.Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved18 January 2022.BBC Sport to broadcast more than 300 hours of live coverage across BBC One and BBC Two, with even more on BBC iPlayer, Red Button and BBC Sport website
^Reedy, Joe (6 February 2022)."Super Bowl/Olympics Sunday about to become routine for NBC".Associated Press.Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved15 February 2022.When the NFL's 11-year television contract starts in 2023, NBC's spot in the Super Bowl rotation lines up the same year as the Winter Olympics.
^Bandler, Kenneth (17 August 2020)."The Uyghers' plight is a humanitarian crisis. More must be done to help".Jerusalem Post.Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved17 August 2020.'It is a genocide,' says Turkel, adding that the 'purposeful prevention of population growth' is one of the legal definitions of genocide. 'In the last year, Uyghur population growth dropped by 24%, and in the previous three years by 84%.' ... If there is no significant change in Chinese government policy regarding the Uyghurs, Turkel would like to see the US boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.
^"Su Yiming 'ROBBED' of gold by judges in Olympic snowboarding event, say fans".meaww.com. 8 February 2022.Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved11 February 2022.Su Yiming was the first-ever participant to successfully pull off an 1800-degree aerial stunt in the Men's Snowboard Slopestyle on February 7 (image)... Some debatable views have risen following the results of Winter Olympic Games 2022. China's local teenage representative, Su Yiming, was denied the gold medal in the slopestyle final round in Beijing.
^"Ayumu Hirano Robbed Trending On Twitter & Controversy -How Is Half Pipe Snowboarding Scored?".showbizcorner.com.Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved11 February 2022.This incident with Ayumu Hirano has infuriated people to the point that the judge who gave him a low score has been called racist... Twitter has been flooded in support of Ayumu because many believe the score the US judge gave him for his second run is unfair and would have cost him his medal.
^Yahoo Sport Australia, "Spanish skater caught in shock new scandal after Winter Olympics." Sam Goodwin, 22 February 2022.[1]Archived 26 February 2022 at theWayback Machine
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