Bach: The Winter Olympics will be held as scheduled to show China's strength, which will leave a rich legacy for the world

Beijing, 31 Jan (Xinhua) -- After IOC President Bach arrived in Beijing on January 22, IOC President Bach's itinerary was extremely busy, leaving his footprints in the Zhangjiakou area and major winter Olympic venues. At four o'clock in the afternoon of the Chinese New Year's Eve day, he took an hour to give an exclusive interview to a Xinhua reporter.

Before the interview began, Bach held a blessing in his hand and bid farewell to the Chinese people through Xinhua News Agency, wishing everyone a happy and successful Year of the Tiger. "The Winter Olympics and spring festival are the perfect combination, the tiger symbolizes courage, strength and success, which is also the blessing I send to the Chinese during the Spring Festival."

The Winter Olympics were held as scheduled to once again highlight China's strength

More than six years ago, it was Bach who announced Beijing as host to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the past six years, even in the face of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics have not stopped, the intensity has not weakened, and the standards have not been lowered.

Bach believes that the Beijing Winter Olympics will finally be held as scheduled, especially in the current situation of the spread of the Olmikron strain in the world, which once again demonstrates China's determination, efficiency and vitality. "We have seen China's determination to respond to the epidemic and China's success in epidemic prevention."

"The preparations for the Winter Olympics have been outstanding, as can be seen from the high praise of the athletes in the Winter Olympic villages. Everyone praised the venues, not only from the sports level, but also from the architectural design; the praise for sustainability, not only because of the double Olympic venues in Beijing, but also because all the green electricity was used this time. Under the epidemic situation, closed-loop management has also been successful so far, making the Chinese people and Olympic-related personnel feel very safe, and we are full of confidence in the scientific method of the "Epidemic Prevention Manual". Bach said.

The Beijing Winter Olympics will leave a rich legacy to the world

In recent years, Bach has said on many occasions that he has admired China's determination and strength to bring 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports. Today, this goal has been achieved ahead of schedule, and Bach believes that this will not only allow Chinese to harvest a healthier lifestyle, but also open a new era for global ice and snow sports.

"For Chinese, this will greatly promote people's physical and mental health." "And from a global perspective, the era of winter sports can be divided into before and after the Beijing Winter Olympics, because 300 million people participate in ice and snow sports, which will open a new era for ice and snow sports," Bach said. ”

He further explained that for international winter sports organizations, they can better develop and develop their sports, while for athletes and sports, they can also attract more attention.

From 2008 to 2022, China has achieved tremendous development in various fields

From 2008 to 2022, from the Beijing Summer Olympics to the Beijing Winter Olympics, Bach praised China's tremendous development in these 14 years.

In the past 14 years, Bach has lost count of how many times he has come to China. He believes that compared with 2008, China has not only made great progress in sports, but also undergone tremendous changes in economic and social aspects.

"In the preparations for the 2008 Olympics, you may sometimes feel nervous and uncertain. Now, China has achieved tremendous development and changes, and has a pivotal position in the world in science and technology, culture, business, politics, sports and other aspects. Bach said.

Last year, the Olympic motto was followed by "faster, higher, stronger" and "more united," and Bach said he was pleased to see the Beijing Winter Olympics slogan "Together for the Future" echoing "more unity." "In today's world, especially under the epidemic, only more unity can solve problems together."

Walking into the Bird's Nest at the opening ceremony, I will think of...

The Beijing Winter Olympics will open on February 4, and the grand opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games has left countless people with indelible memories. Therefore, people are also looking forward to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

As the head of the International Olympic Committee, Bach could not have been unaware of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. But when asked if he could reveal it, Bach kept it a secret to the end.

But he said: "I went to the Bird's Nest this morning and met the director team, and I know that the general director of this time also directed the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and I believe that this time we can look forward to a completely different but equally wonderful opening ceremony than 2008." ”

"When you walk into the Bird's Nest on February 4th, how will you feel?"

Bach replied: "I think I will remember the moment I came to the stage as a fencer, I will be more focused on the game, and all the difficulties I have experienced in the past, all the efforts I have put into this regard, are translated into excellent performances on the field at this moment." My coach of the year told me that before the game, we had studied all the problems that might arise, so if something happened on the field that we hadn't studied, those would certainly not be an obstacle to our success.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Ji Ye Luo Xin Dong Yixing

(Xinhua News Agency)