The picture shows the photovoltaic power generation site in Beijing Winter Olympic Village. Photo by Hu Qingming (People's Vision)
With the approaching of the Beijing Winter Olympics, new ice and snow sports such as skiing, skating, and ice hockey have gradually become "hot" in China, and the boom in ice and snow sports for the whole people has become more and more intense. Pictured here on December 21, children from Taihua Primary School experience the fun of skating at an ice skating rink in Luliang City, Shanxi Province. Photo by Liu Liangliang (People's Vision)
It has been less than 40 days since the opening of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. As hosts, Beijing and Zhangjiakou are making intensive preparations for the final sprint to welcome ice and snow athletes from all over the world. Many foreign media will also focus on China and pay close attention to the arrival of this ice and snow event. Under the special background of the continuous spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the international community looks forward to the smooth hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics, bringing more vitality and confidence to the world.
Everything is ready
Russian news agency recently reported that the countdown boards installed throughout Beijing show that it is less than 50 days before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The agency pointed out that as the pace of the 24th Winter Olympics gets closer and closer, Beijing will become the world's first "city of two Olympics". China promised that all venues and facilities would be fully prepared to dedicate a "simple, safe and wonderful Olympic event" to the world.
Everything is ready for the Beijing Winter Olympics: the Winter Olympics fire has arrived in Beijing from Greece, the medals, costumes and torch designs have been shown to the public, and the mascot panda "Ice Pier" and the lantern "Snow Rongrong" have long been widely known. The epidemic prevention manual prepared by the Chinese side for the delegations of various countries has been completed, and test matches have been held in various venues. On January 27 next year, China will open the Olympic Village to host athletes from all over the world.
Russia's "Labor Daily" website recently reported that the venues planned for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games have been built so far and are ready to be put into operation. The National Speed Skating Hall has the world's largest ice surface using CO2 transcritical direct cold ice making technology. Seven venues in Beijing use the world's most advanced ice-making technology. It can control the temperature difference of the ice surface within 0.5 degrees Celsius to avoid the situation that the temperature of each part is different and the hardness of the ice surface is uneven. This ice-making technology replaces the traditional methods that are not good for the environment, the carbon emissions are approaching zero, and more than 40% of the energy consumption can be saved. In addition, hot water with a temperature of 60 to 65 degrees Celsius can be prepared using the heat generated during the ice making process, which can save about 2 million kWh of electricity a year.
Green and low carbon has become a shining business card of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and has also become a hot spot reported by foreign media. According to Reuters, the Winter Olympics will provide clean energy such as natural gas, renewable energy and hydrogen to the venues in Beijing and Zhangjiakou, and Zhangjiakou will invest 655 hydrogen-fueled buses in the competition area during the Winter Olympics. The British "Independent" published an article saying that "the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be a carbon neutral event".
Kenya's mainstream media "National Newspaper" published an article highly praising China's unremitting efforts and remarkable achievements in hosting the "safe, open, clean and green" Olympic Games. The article said that the Winter Olympics used green energy for the first time, combined sports and ecological protection, launched a comprehensive plan to overcome the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and provided vaccines for participants, and China's strict and effective epidemic prevention and control system provided a strong guarantee for the safety of athletes.
Snow sports are getting hot
Latin America news agencies reported that since October, due to the launch of many qualifiers involving domestic and foreign athletes and the testing of various competition venues and support services, the preparations for the Winter Olympics have been in full swing, and the atmosphere of the Winter Olympics in Beijing has become increasingly strong. News about the Beijing Winter Olympics was presented in China's major media, and at the societal level, the sporting event was more anticipated by better promoting winter sports among people of all ages. In this regard, IOC President Bach praised China for "bringing 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" to promote ice and snow sports to a new level and reach a new level.
Bringing 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports is a solemn commitment made by Beijing to the international community when it bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics together with Zhangjiakou. According to the "Legacy Report of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (2020)" released by the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, in the 2020-2021 snow season, under the premise of ensuring the safety of epidemic prevention and control, a total of 184 prefecture-level cities in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country carried out more than 1,200 mass ice and snow events, with nearly 100 million people directly involved and indirectly affected.
Many foreign media have noticed that in China, as ice and snow sports have become "hot sports", the ice and snow industry has also become a "hot economy". The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that as the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics gets closer and closer, the Chinese ski market is receiving more and more attention. Some analysts believe that with the increase of people's access to skiing opportunities, the customer base covered by this market will gradually expand from ski enthusiasts and high-income people to a larger range. European and American sporting goods companies are optimistic about the business opportunities and have gone to China to expand their business. China's ski market is widely optimistic, in addition to China's better control of the epidemic, but also the huge potential of its leisure market. The increase in ski enthusiasts will drive the development of related industries, and private business opportunities will continue to emerge.
According to a 2018 report by the EU Center for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the U.S. Consumer News and Business Channel is expected to have a market size of $3.97 billion by 2022, an increase of more than 480% over 2015. According to the "Research Report on the Development of China's Ice and Snow Industry" released at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in 2021, China's ice and snow industry has rapidly increased from 270 billion yuan in 2015 to more than 420 billion yuan in 2019. By 2025, the scale of China's ice and snow industry is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan, accounting for nearly 1/5 of the entire sports industry.
Demonstrate determination to cooperate internationally
Recently, a few Western countries, led by the United States, have successively announced that they will not send officials to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics. In this regard, IOC President Bach said in an interview with German media that most countries will not join the US-led action.
Prior to this, Reuters also quoted senior IOC Commissioner Pound as saying, "From the perspective of a host who can host an organized and excellent Olympic Games, China has absolutely no problem," he also stressed, "China is a very good and very organized country." ”
"China is committed to presenting a 'simple, safe and exciting' Winter Olympics in 2022, including minimizing the risk of the epidemic and protecting athletes from all countries." China has also made the difficult decision to abandon large ceremonies and not invite large international audiences. Despite These reasonable and responsible efforts by China, the Western media have played a shameful role in repeatedly and irresponsibly accusing China. An article on Greece's Modern Diplomacy website pointed out that the Attitude of the United States toward the Beijing Winter Olympics is morally flawed, apparently out of geopolitical considerations to curb China's rise. However, this geopolitical calculation is doomed to failure.
At present, UN Secretary-General Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin have expressed their invitation to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. In addition, many heads of state, government and members of the royal family have registered to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics. At the same time, many countries such as South Korea, South Africa, Iran and Venezuela have also spoken out in different ways in support of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Norwegian Ambassador to China Blaise Bai sina said in an interview with the media a few days ago that Norway will send a huge delegation of more than 300 athletes and support personnel to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics. Bai Sina said that the cooperation between Norway and China in winter sports in recent years has vividly explained the spirit of participation in the Olympic Movement. "We hope that more countries will participate in ice and snow sports, and countries should exchange and learn from each other and work together."
The Ethnologue believes that the Olympic spirit brings people together, bridging historical, cultural and even ideological differences and establishing friendly relations between countries. Through the Beijing Winter Olympics, China demonstrated its determination to cooperate internationally.