"See you at the Beijing Winter Olympics!"

Exterior view of Beijing Winter Olympic Village. It is reported that the Beijing Winter Olympic Village will officially open on January 27, 2022. Photo by Hu Qingming (People's Photo)

The Beijing Winter Olympics are approaching, and ice and snow athletes all over the world are eagerly looking forward to the opening of the event. Recently, the relevant parties of the international community have successively issued just voices in support of the Beijing Winter Olympics and against the politicization of sports. Countries and people around the world practicing the Olympic spirit are proving with practical actions that it is the aspiration of the people to host a simple, safe and wonderful Beijing Winter Olympics. People from many countries said that the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics are excellent, and they believe that Beijing will present an unforgettable sports event.

"Sport must be protected from political interference"

The resolution on the Olympic Truce at the Beijing Winter Olympics was adopted by consensus at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in early December this year, and 173 Member States jointly proposed the resolution. On December 11, the declaration of the 10th Olympic Summit of the International Olympic Committee once again issued a common call from the international sports community to support the Beijing Winter Olympics and oppose the politicization of sports. Multilateral mechanisms such as the G20, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the China-CELAC Forum, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have also issued strong voices in support of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

At his annual press conference on December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that sport, like the arts, should unite people, not create problems among peoples. When sport loses its fundamental value, it will be detrimental to the entire international community.

In an interview with French television, Jean-Michel Blanquet, Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports, said: "Sport itself is a world and sport must be protected from political interference. Otherwise, it can evolve in any direction and will eventually kill all races. ”

Zimbabwe's Information Minister Monica Mutzwangova said in an interview with Chinese media that sport can bring encouragement and joy, should remain pure, and should never be politicized. The attempts of some Western countries to interfere with the Beijing Winter Olympics will not succeed, let alone have any impact on the smooth holding of this grand event.

German 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and 2018 at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Leyser, who won a total of 2 silver and 1 bronze, said in an interview with DSA that political discussions at the expense of athletes' rights and interests were wrong. "A lot of athletes have qualified for the Winter Olympics and can't deprive them of their right to compete, they can't ruin their dreams. The Olympic movement should be non-political. ”

"Beijing Winter Olympics will unite the international community"

The IOC's official quarterly, Olympic Review, published an article by IOC President Bach in the latest issue in December. "The haze of COVID-19 is still not lifting, and the world we live in seems to be more polarized than ever," he said. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be an important moment to bring the world together in a spirit of peace, friendship and solidarity. ”

In response to the politicization of the Beijing Winter Olympics by some countries, South Africa's deputy director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Suklar expressed regret. He said: "The world has been suffering from the impact of the epidemic in the past two years, and the Beijing Winter Olympics are like a beacon of hope, uniting the international community. It's going to be a great holiday, a great party. ”

Sergei Bubka, president of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, believes that the Beijing Winter Olympics will be a winter Olympic Games worthy of the world's expectations. He said that in order to jointly cope with the challenge of the epidemic, the people of all countries and regions need sports and, more importantly, solidarity.

Norwegian Ambassador to China Berthasna believes that the cooperation between Norway and China in winter sports vividly explains 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 Winter Olympics are not just sporting events, but more importantly, a show of solidarity to the world. We bring the world together and feel the camaraderie through sport. American alpine skier and two-time Winter Olympic gold medalist Severin said.

"Confident of achieving good results on the field"

The global epidemic situation is grim, how to hold the Winter Olympics safely and efficiently as scheduled?

On December 13, the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee released the second edition of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Epidemic Prevention Manual (hereinafter referred to as the "Epidemic Prevention Manual"). Han Zirong, full-time vice chairman and secretary general of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, said in an interview with the media: "The measures described in the Epidemic Prevention Handbook are based on the latest scientific research results in epidemic prevention and control, expert opinions and other international event experience, we believe that these countermeasures can effectively reduce the risk of the epidemic, and hope that everyone can strictly abide by them and work together to dedicate a simple, safe and wonderful Olympic event to the world." ”

The President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, Gurchar, recently expressed his sincere gratitude to China for hosting the Winter Olympics under the difficult environment of the new crown epidemic. In his view, the fact that the Winter Olympics were to be held was a huge success in itself.

At present, the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games have been completed, all the competition venues have been completed, and they have passed the certification of international winter single sports organizations, and fully meet the conditions for running the games. Athletes from many countries are also stepping up their preparations and preparing for the momentum, looking forward to playing at their best level in the Winter Olympics.

New Zealand skier Margot Hackett said: "I am delighted to represent New Zealand at the Beijing Winter Olympics and hope to make everyone proud of me and I am confident of achieving good results on the field. See you at the Beijing Winter Olympics!"

Carlos Proneta, head of the Mexican delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympics and president of the Mexican National Ski Association, said that the entire Mexican delegation is excited to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics, and believes that all athletes will have a very unforgettable memory on the field.

(Comprehensive reports of Shi Zhipeng, Kang Pu, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV and other related reports of this newspaper)