Final report highlights legacy of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022

Beijing is the first city to have hosted both the Olympic Summer and Winter Games. From the outset, organisers set themselves the ambitious target of attracting more than 300 million people across China to snow and ice activities, with a special focus placed on engaging young people. In a report from October 2021, the success of this focus could already be seen, as it showed that 46 million people in China under the age of 18 were participating in ice and snow sports, representing a 15.6 per cent participation rate.

Furthermore, 835 Olympic Education Demonstration Schools have been designated, with over 2,000 schools integrating winter sports into their curriculum during the Beijing 2022 Olympic cycle.

All the competition venues from Beijing 2022 continue to be used. They will stage a number of Olympic Winter Sports International Federation (IF) events in the next few years, including a series of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Cup and 11 International Skating Union calendar events. China is also bidding for a number of International Ski and Snowboard Federation events, while the venues are used year-round for mass participation, culture and leisure.

Delivering the report, Zhang Qian, International Relations Director General of Beijing 2022, said: “With joint efforts from all parties both in and outside China, splendid Games were finally staged in a simplified and safe way. The ‘truly exceptional Games’ as defined by IOC President Thomas Bach will be remembered in Olympic history, as we together achieved the glory of the Olympic Movement in spite of tremendous difficulties and challenges, mainly posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Nearly 3,000 athletes from 91 National Olympic Committees participated in the Games, with women accounting for 45 per cent of the total, making Beijing 2022 the most gender-balanced Winter Games to date.

To reduce the environmental impact of the Games, Beijing 2022 re-used five competition venues from the Olympic Games in 2008, while embracing sustainable construction standards for the venues that were newly constructed.

Shougang Park in Beijing, which included the iconic big air venue during the Games, was converted from a former steel mill and is now used as both a sports facility and a vibrant cultural hub.

The Games also served as an important opportunity for the integrated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the whole capital region, and beyond. With new transport links, including the new Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway, inter-city travel has become more convenient for business and tourism purposes, and public services are more accessible.

IOC President Thomas Bach himself witnessed the legacy of Beijing 2022 when he visited China for the first time since the Games in May this year.

During his visit, the IOC President announced that the IOC will contribute its share of the surplus of USD 10.4 million from the organisational budget of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 to support the legacy of these Games. The IOC’s share will be given to the Chinese Olympic Committee and is intended to support the development of sport in China.

The presentation from the Organising Committee was followed by that of the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, Juan Antonio Samaranch, who highlighted the seven recommendations from the Commission’s final report, published in December 2022.

The seven recommendations relate to:

• The legacy case for new single-use venues
• Use of existing local services
• High-performing delivery partnerships
• Remote collaboration and operations
• Worldwide Olympic Partner/Organising Committee engagement
• The showcasing of sport and athlete performance
• The positive impact of the Games in host communities

Samaranch said: “The Beijing 2022 story is one of great sporting performances, global and local social media engagement, and inspiring and efficient Games. On top of that, we had to put a ‘cover of safety’ to protect participants from COVID-19, which had never been done before. And it all worked in an extraordinary way.”