Beijing, 19 Jan (Xinhua) -- On January 19, the "Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Report Collection (2022)" was released, summarizing the achievements that have been transformed into a real legacy since the preparation of the Beijing Winter Olympics. So, what is the "Olympic legacy"? How has this concept evolved? What new content has China injected into it?
Pictured here is the Beijing Olympic Park (taken on August 17, 2021). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Liu Xinghua)
A twist on the Olympic Agenda 2020
According to the definition given by the IOC, the Olympic legacy is the result of the realization of the vision of the Olympic Games, encompassing all the tangible and intangible long-term benefits created or accelerated by hosting the Olympic Games for the public, urban and regional development and the Olympic Movement.
This definition did not come about overnight. The IOC's official website has compiled the legacy of several Olympic Games, and the earliest available is the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games. That year, the U.S. women's swimming team inspired the movement for women's suffrage in the same period, and the first release of the peace dove at the opening ceremony became a custom for subsequent opening ceremonies, and the main stadium that hosted the opening ceremony later became the home of the local football club and is still used today.
Nearly a century ago, however, there was no systematic concept of "Olympic legacy" to guide people to consciously leave behind what to do for future generations by hosting the Games. The renovation of Antwerp's main stadium accounted for half of the total cost of that Olympic Games, but after the meeting, it underwent a makeover to meet the needs of the football game. This also shows that the organizers at that time had not yet planned the subsequent use of the venue from the beginning.
Now, comprehensive planning and management of the Olympic legacy from the beginning of the preparations, and practicing the concept of sustainable Olympic heritage during the period, has become an important working mode for the work of the Olympic heritage. The beginning of this model is the preparation of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Pictured here is the Beijing Winter Olympic Park (taken on October 26, 2021). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Liu Xinghua)
Liu Xinghua, Director of the Heritage Management Division of the General Planning Department of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, participated in the preparation of the 2008 and 2022 Olympic Games. He introduced that the concept of "Olympic legacy" originated from the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and there were many examples of the Olympic Games benefiting the host city, such as the industrial decline of the East End of London after the London Olympic Games, and the establishment of the Russian International Olympic University after the Sochi Winter Olympics.
The landmark turnaround took place in the Olympic Agenda 2020, promulgated in 2014. The reform package, proposed by IOC President Bach, proposes that the bid process for the Olympic Games should be "focused on sustainability and heritage" and that the IOC, with the support of host cities and other institutions, should assess and monitor the use of the Olympic legacy on a long-term basis.
The Beijing Winter Olympics became the first Olympic Games to comprehensively plan and manage the Olympic legacy from the beginning of the preparations after the promulgation of the Olympic Agenda 2020. In September 2017, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee set up a separate Heritage Division in the Overall Planning Department. Since then, the Heritage Coordination Working Committee has been established, the Heritage Strategic Plan has been released, the first Heritage Report has been published... In the preparation process for the Beijing Winter Olympics, the heritage concept and practice have always run through it.
Long-term gains resonate with the same frequency
"We have a lot of snow sports venues, and it was challenging to use after the game. Snow sports are mostly niche, and can even be called 'superhuman sports', how to let the people use these venues after the game, the venues can also be operated for a long time, can not start to think after the game, from the beginning of the planning to think. Liu Xinghua said.
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Report Collection (2022)
In this regard, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee worked closely with the territorial governments and venue owners of the three competition areas, and all the competition venues formulated three versions of the "Venue Heritage Plan". After the game, the venue must first serve the fitness of the whole people, and consider multiple operations in the non-snow season. Mountain venues plan to develop mountain outdoor projects such as grass skiing, hiking, rock climbing, and mountain biking to achieve four-season utilization. For example, the National Alpine Ski Centre will continue to host international high-level events, which will also be open to the public, and mountain outdoor sports and tourism projects will be developed during the non-snow season, integrating into the overall development of the region.
This "long-term" as the key to understanding the Olympic legacy, was written into the IOC's legacy strategic approach, the Olympic heritage guide and other documents, together with other elements to form the current definition of the Olympic legacy.
"Initially people generally focused only on hardware, but then realized that the Olympic Games can also bring intangible heritage." Liu Xinghua said that the report released this time focuses on the achievements made in the progress of social civilization and the popularization and promotion of Olympic and ice and snow culture.
For example, the cause of volunteer service has been driven by the rapid development of the two Olympic Games; for example, the naming of venues such as "Snow Dragon", "Xue Feiyan" and "Snow Ruyi", and the design of the image logo of the Winter Olympics such as emblems and sports icons have left a Chinese cultural imprint on winter sports; for example, the establishment of the Beijing International Olympic Academy has innovated to promote Olympic research and talent training...
"Some of these achievements were directly created by the preparation of the Olympic Games, and some of them are the development aspirations of the host sites themselves, and the hosting of the Olympic Games has accelerated their arrival." For example, the opening of the Beijing-Zhangjiang high-speed railway and the acceleration of the integration of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei behind it, as well as China's advocacy of green travel and the use of new energy. The venue and the vision of the Olympic cause have achieved the same frequency resonance. Liu Xinghua said.
The "forerunner" of Olympic legacy work
As a work that is still being explored, the Olympic legacy has not yet taken shape in the international rules to follow. "The national conditions and cultures are different, and the models for planning and managing the Olympic legacy are also different." Wang Renhua, deputy director of the Overall Planning Department of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, said that Beijing, as the world's first "double Olympic" city, has left a unique mark on the work of Olympic heritage. After 2008, Beijing's sports industry, Olympic economy, transformation of scientific and technological achievements, green development concepts, etc., have continued to affect the lives of Beijing residents; "Water Cube" has become "Ice Cube" this time, realizing the sustainable use of venues.
Interior view of the "Ice Cube" Ice Sports Center
Spanning 100 years, the Shougang Park is also a living "double Olympic" heritage. From the construction of the factory in 1919, to the relocation before the Beijing Olympic Games, and then to the office of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee and the location of the Shougang Big Jump, the Construction of the Beijing Winter Olympic Park. Bach has repeatedly praised that the Shougang Park will surely become a new model for the Olympic Movement to promote urban innovation and development, the reuse of world industrial heritage and the revitalization of industrial zones.
In the legacy work of the Winter Olympic Games, the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee have jointly developed the "Heritage Assessment System (KPI)" and the "General Template for Venue Heritage Planning", which have been promoted to other Olympic Organizing Committees such as Tokyo and Paris... All of this work will become part of the IOC's Knowledge Transfer program, a repository of lessons learned and experienced from the organization of previous Olympic Games, and in this way Beijing will leave a shared legacy and contribute Chinese wisdom to the Olympic cause.
Wang Renhua said that today, the beijing Winter Olympic heritage work has been praised by the International Olympic Committee as a "forerunner" in the field of Olympic heritage.
Editors: Ding Wenxian, Huang Xuguo, Wu Junkuan, Du Qiuyu (Intern)