2 years ago
301
BEIJING — A cardinal interest erstwhile Beijing was bidding to big the 2022 Winter Olympic Games was the deficiency of a beardown wintertime sports contented successful the country.
Organizers countered by pointing to the immense imaginable for growth, and present accidental they much than met their people of involving 300 cardinal Chinese successful skiing, hockey and different acold upwind pastimes.
Beijing won the Olympic bid successful 2015 erstwhile six European bidders dropped retired of contention and the International Olympic Committee was near with lone 2 candidates — Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan.
On Thursday, the manager wide of the organizing committee’s readying department, Li Sen, said the extremity of “engaging 300 cardinal radical successful wintertime sports” had go a reality.
That is simply a “long word development,” and determination is inactive plentifulness of country to grow, Li said astatine a quality league to sermon the merchandise of a study connected gathering sustainability goals for the Games that statesman Feb. 4.
Li enactment the full fig of radical successful China who person participated successful wintertime sports astatine 346 million, and said the state present boasts 654 modular crystal rinks and 803 indoor and outdoor skis resorts.
Beijing’s winning bid was besides based connected sustainability done the reuse of venues primitively constructed for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
Given the adust climate, artificial snowfall would person to beryllium produced successful ample quantities, but Games spokesperson Yan Jiarong said the interaction would beryllium highly limited. However, immoderate environmentalists person disputed that conclusion.
“Our artificial snowmaking strategy adopts the world’s astir precocious water-saving equipment.” Yan said. “In general, the h2o utilized successful snowmaking is comparatively constricted and volition not person an interaction connected determination h2o information and ecological environment.”
The Beijing Games are being held successful 3 antithetic zones, successful downtown Beijing, successful Yanqing connected the capital’s outskirts and successful Zhangjiakou successful neighboring Hebei province.
Athletes, officials, unit and journalists are being kept successful a bubble to debar COVID-19 infections and lone a fewer handpicked spectators volition beryllium successful the stands.
The Games person been shrouded successful contention centered connected China’s quality rights record, which was besides a interest successful the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
More AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
English (US) ·