Beijing, the capital of China, is a world-renowned historical and cultural city as well as a modern metropolis. It is also a city embracing a tradition of winter sports, and has a world-class venue legacy from the 2008 Games. Closely adjoining Beijing, Zhangjiakou is an emerging hot spot for snow sports in China with well-developed ski and hotel facilities.
Beijing 2022 has planned three Games zones: Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. The Beijing zone will provide the venues for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the ice sports competitions. The Yanqing zone will host the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge as well as Alpine skiing competitions. Biathlon and all the skiing events, except Alpine skiing, will take place in the Zhangjiakou zone. Both the Yanqing and Zhangjiakou zones are located to the north-west of the Beijing zone along the Yanshan mountain range. With favourable temperatures, average freeze periods and snow depths, as well as wind speeds, these two locations are ideal for the snow sports competitions of Beijing 2022.
Of the 12 proposed competition venues, six already exist, minimising the cost of venue construction and demonstrating the concept of sustainable development. Six will be newly built, with three of them planned regardless of the Games. In addition to satisfying all technical requirements, and with approval from all International Federations, the distribution of the venues in the three zones will maximise opportunities for post-Games use, benefiting the development of Olympic winter sports in and around Beijing and encouraging more people to participate.
The three zones will be connected by a high-speed railway and a number of expressways. The high-speed railway will reduce the travel time between the Beijing and Zhangjiakou zones to 50 minutes (station to station). Within each zone, all the venues are linked by high-standard roads and convenient public transport, and are within five to 15 minutes of the Olympic Villages, to ensure the athletes’ easy participation in the competitions.
Based on strong recognition of the Olympic values as well as admiration for the spirit of reform reflected in Olympic Agenda 2020, Beijing has established the great vision of “Joyful Rendez-vous upon Pure Ice and Snow” for its Olympic project.
Beijing 2022 will widely spread and practise the Olympic values, and encourage 300 million people in northern China to participate in winter sports, thus integrating sport into their daily life. Beijing 2022 will effectively enhance the competition skills of Chinese athletes and promote the balanced development of sports in China. The incomparable influence of the Olympic Winter Games will help the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei region to become a new economic powerhouse of China as well as a model area of sustainable development in terms of population, resources and environment, thus benefiting the general public.
The three main pillars of Beijing 2022’s concept are:
- Running athlete-centred Games. As the ultimate priority, athletes will be provided with top-class services in areas such as training, competition, transport, accommodation, catering, medical care and cultural communications, thus ensuring they perform their best and achieve their dreams;
- Ensuring sustainable development. With sustainable development as its core strategy, Beijing 2022 will be incorporated into the National Strategy of the Integrated and Coordinated Development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei as well as the long-term regional development plan, so that the Games showcase improvements in the urban ecological environment, economic growth and social progress, achieving positive interaction between the Olympic Movement and the region; and
- Hosting economical Games. Beijing 2022 will adhere strictly to the policy of being meticulous, prudent and feasible in budgeting, raising funds primarily through the robust Chinese market, and strictly controlling the operational and capital costs. Among the 12 competition and non-competition venues in the Beijing zone, 11 are legacies from Beijing 2008. All newly built venues will satisfy the requirements of the Games and be temporary structures or a combination of temporary and permanent facilities. They all have well-developed post-Games use plans.
At the inception of the bid for Beijing 2022, planning was conducted with the aim of creating Olympic legacies through sustainable projects.
Beijing 2022 will endeavour to improve the environment and promote progress in sport, society, the region and the economy. It will create both tangible and intangible legacies, including newly built venues, upgraded transport infrastructure, sports and tourism development, and an increase in the number of participants in sport, thus enhancing the pride and confidence of the people, promoting healthy lifestyles and strengthening environmental awareness.
Beijing 2022 will formulate the best management plan to incorporate sustainability into the entire preparation process for the Games, with detailed risk and opportunity analyses conducted.
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