CGTN
The organizers of the Beijing Winter Olympics said that all preparations are in place for the games to start on February 4. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games (BOCOG) held a press conference under the theme of “Winter Olympics, Sports, and Culture” at the Beijing 2022 Main Media Center on Monday, pledging once again that China will deliver a “simple, safe, and wonderful” edition of the Games. As the games overlap with China’s Spring Festival, they are also being embraced by the nation as a New Year present from the world, said Zhao Weidong, a BOCOG spokesperson. He appeared at the briefing along with another spokesperson Yan Jiarong, chairperson of the Athletes’ Commission, Yang Yang, director-general of the operations team of the National Speed Skating Oval, Wu Xiaonan, and others. Zhao said preparations have been completed, including venue construction and test runs, athletes’ warm-up sessions on site, accessible facilities in all three competition zones, and hotel and medical services. Meanwhile, 5G, robots, hydrogen vehicles and other advanced techniques are also ready to bring convenience to Olympic personnel during the Games. Yan introduced the thoughts behind the cultural and decorative aspects of venues, including traditional Chinese lanterns, paper cutting, and the calligraphy of “Fu” that symbolizes good luck. Chinese cultural elements can also be found in cuisine, such as dumplings and Peking duck. “We would like to invite everyone to enjoy the Games in all senses, including tastes of the food, while enjoying the matches,” Yan said. COVID protocols are working effectively within the closed loop, according to Dr. Huang Chun, deputy director-general of BOCOG’s Pandemic Prevention and Control Office. Although virus cases have been detected in the loop, they are regarded as reasonable due to the increasing arrivals of Olympic personnel. No cluster infection has occurred in the closed loop.
