In 2022, the 24th Beijing Winter Olympics will officially kick off on February 4 at the National Stadium in Beijing, China - the Bird's Nest. As a result, Beijing will become the first city in the world to host the Summer and Winter Olympics (2008 Beijing Summer Olympics).
Today I would like to introduce to you the origin and development of the Winter Olympics, as well as the current situation of the Olympics in Beijing.
1. About the Winter Olympics
1)History
The Winter Olympics (French: Jeux Olympiques d'hiver), is a major international sporting event aimed at developing ice and snow sports, held every four years. The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in 1924. It was held four times from 1924 to 1936. The Winter Olympics were interrupted from 1940 and 1944 due to World War II. After the war, it was restored in 1948 and held a total of 12 sessions until 1992. Each Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year.
In 1986, the International Olympic Committee decided to separate the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics and in 1994 they were held at intervals of every two years. The 1992 Winter Olympics was the last Winter Olympics held in the same year as the Summer Olympics. The new Winter Olympics and the 17th Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway were held in 1994 and are held every four years. So far, 23 Winter Olympics have been held, and the 25th Winter Olympics will be held in February 2026 in Milan, Italy – Cortina d’Ampezzo.
2)Competition
The original Winter Olympics consisted of five main sports: sledding, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing (including military patrol, cross-country skiing, Nordic combo and ski jumping) and ice skating. With continuous development and improvement, new sports such as short track speed skating, speed skating, figure skating, alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, ski jumping, snowboarding, tobogganing, tobogganing, and tobogganing have become Winter Olympics events.
3)Participating countries
As of 2022, a total of 12 countries have hosted the Winter Olympics, and 46 countries have participated in the previous Winter Olympics (including the disintegrated former Soviet Union, East Germany, West Germany, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia). Among them, the United States has held four sessions, France has held three sessions, Austria, Canada, Japan, Italy, Norway, Sweden and other countries have held two sessions each, and Germany, Yugoslavia, Russia, and South Korea each held one session. So far, no country in the southern hemisphere has hosted the Winter Olympics.
4)Awards record
Looking back at the previous Winter Olympics, six countries including Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States have won awards at each Winter Olympics. The only country that has won a gold medal at every Winter Olympics is the United States. Norway tops the Winter Olympics awards tally, followed by the United States, Germany, Austria, Canada, Russia (including the former Soviet Union). In addition to European countries, Asia's South Korea, Japan and China ranked 15th to 17th in the award standings.
5)Problems
[1]
Due to the high cost of hosting the Olympic Games, most host cities have never realized investment profits. To this end, the International Olympic Committee has formulated a number of measures to ease the pressure on hosting and provide part of the budget for the host city.
[2]
Although the International Olympic Committee has taken many steps in establishing an organization (the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established in November 1999) and related policies, the doping problem still has been repeatedly banned, such as the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, the Russian doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics is particularly prominent.
[3]
The investigation found that every Olympic (summer and winter) bid since 1988 has involved bribery of IOC members. As a result, many members of the International Olympic Committee have been expelled or subject to relevant sanctions.
2. Beijing Winter Olympics
1)Overview
The XXIV Winter Olympic Games (French: Les XXIIes Jeux Olympiques d'hiver) and the Beijing Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, from February 4 to February 20, 2022. Nearly 3,000 athletes from 91 countries or regions around the world will participate in 7 major events, 124 sub-events.
The competition venue is divided into three competition areas: Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. The Beijing competition area undertakes all ice sports, the Yanqing competition area undertakes snowmobile, sled and alpine skiing events, and the Zhangjiakou competition area undertakes all snow sports except snowmobiles, sledding and alpine skiing.
2)Related Information
[1] Emblem:
The emblem of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is inspired by the Chinese character "winter", using the art form of Chinese calligraphy and the characteristics of paper-cutting. The dancing lines in the middle are smooth and full of rhythm, symbolizing the rolling hills, the racing field, the ice and snow slides, and the festive ribbons.
The emblem is dominated by blue, implying dreams and future, as well as the brightness and purity of ice and snow. The red and yellow colours are derived from the Chinese national flag, representing passion, youth and vitality of the sport. The emblem integrates oriental cultural heritage and international modern style as a whole, presenting a new image and new dream of China in the new era.
[2] The theme sentence:
"Together for a Shared Future", advocating the pursuit of the common goal of unity, peace, progress, and inclusiveness, and promoting a faster, higher, stronger and more united Olympic spirit in China. It expresses the common desire that the world needs to join hands to move towards a better future.
[3] Mascot:
The mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympics is named "Bing Dundun" (meaning ice child), and its image comes from the national treasure panda. The shape of its head is taken from the helmet of ice and snow sports, and the colourful halo decoration is inspired by the "ice ribbon" of the National Speed Skating Hall. The flowing lines symbolize the ice and snow sports track and 5G high-tech. The heart-shaped pattern on the left palm of "Bing Dundun" represents the warm welcome of the host country to friends from all over the world.
[4] Opening Ceremony:
The opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be held at the Beijing National Stadium ("Bird's Nest") at 20:00 on February 4, 2022, Beijing time. The 100-minute opening ceremony will revolve around three themes, including China's pursuit and yearning for world peace, the Olympic purpose of "faster, higher, stronger and more united", and the vision of the Beijing Winter Olympics of "joining the future". The chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies is Zhang Yimou, accompanied by about 3,000 actors.
Looking back on the Chinese delegation's participation in the Winter Olympics, they participated 11 times and won 13 golds, 28 silvers, 21 bronzes, a total of 62 medals, and ranked 17th in the national medals list. Despite the impact of the pandemic, this Winter Olympics will not become the last special event in history. I believe that the global ice and snow athletes will "together to the future", burning the ice and snow, and creating new achievements.
(Part of the article is taken from the Internet)
Spring is approaching,
Wow Nature would like to wish all Chinese friends:
Happy Spring Festival! Safe and healthy family!
Don't forget to watch the Winter Olympics during the festival~
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