2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Fast Facts

Here’s a look at the 2022 Winter Olympics scheduled to be held in Beijing. The games are scheduled to take place February 4-20, 2022. The Paralympics are scheduled to take place March 4-13, 2022.

Facts

Beijing is the capital of China, and its population is over 20 million. It is one of the largest cities in the world.

Beijing is the first city ever to host both the summer and winter Olympic Games. The 2008 Summer Olympics were also held in Beijing.

In total, 13 venues, split between the zones of Beijing, Zhangjiakou and Yanqing, will be used during the 17 days of the Games. One new venue, the National Speed Skating Oval, was built in Beijing, and existing venues are being renovated for the Games.

A total of 109 events will be held, in 15 disciplines across seven sports: biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating and skiing.

The entire Games will feature artificial snow for the outdoor events, since it doesn’t snow much there.

The Olympic torch, called “Flying,” has a curled ribbon design, and is similar to the design of the 2008 torch.

The Beijing Games will include new mixed men’s and women’s team events in freestyle skiing, short-track speed skating, snowboarding and ski jumping.

The Games have been heavily criticized amid allegations of China’s human rights abuses, notably towards the minority Uyghur population.

Timeline

July 31, 2015 – The International Olympic Committee announces that Beijing has been chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, beating out Almaty, Kazakhstan.

December 30, 2019 – The Jing-Zhang high-speed railway goes into service. The driverless bullet train, which can go 350 kilometers per hour (217 mph), connects Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, all three of which will host events during the upcoming Winter Olympics.

March 4, 2020 – Twelve US senators led by Republican Rick Scott submit a bipartisan resolution requesting that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) remove the 2022 Games from China and reopen the bidding process.

February 2, 2021 – A letter signed by more than 180 campaign groups calling for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing warns the Games could “embolden” human rights abuses in China. The letter is put forward by “a coalition of Tibetan, Uyghur, Southern Mongolian, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Chinese Democracy, and human rights campaign groups.”