Beijing, 2008: The sports world looks out over the Chinese capital. The metropolis is hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics. Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals and seven world records were the sporting highlights of these games. But these were quickly overshadowed by doping, corruption, terrorism and the ecological aspects. Even then, the “Middle Kingdom” was heavily criticized because of the human rights situation and the Tibet policy. Hollywood director Steven Spielberg withdrew his participation in the opening ceremony. There were also concerns about air quality and its potential impact on athletes. Two years before the Summer Games, Beijing Vice Mayor Liu Zhihua, who was in charge of the Olympic construction and land allocation, was sacked for corruption.
But that was not all: in March 2008, attack plans against the Olympic Games were uncovered. According to the state news agency Xinhua, extremists from the predominantly Muslim, autonomous region of Xinjiang had already prepared an assassination attempt in January 2008. The Chinese government also censored the press. Live recordings from Tian’anmen Square, for example, were banned – the place where the Chinese government cruelly crushed a protest by the population in 1989.
Now, 14 years later, Beijing is hosting the Winter Olympics. The capital of the People’s Republic of China has a history of over three thousand years and, with an administrative area as large as Styria, with 22 to 24 million inhabitants, is significantly more than all of Austria. Most of the area around the core city of Beijing (8 million inhabitants) consists of suburbs and is largely structured in a rural way. This also explains why winter sports can now also be practiced not far from the Great Wall of China. Yanqing, for example, is only half an hour’s drive north of Badaling, where the 2008 Olympic road cycling competitions ended.
The concept of the organizers of the 24th Winter Games provides for three competition zones: The indoor ice competitions are held in Beijing itself. Several stadiums were already in use at the 2008 Summer Games, above all the “Bird’s Nest”, where the opening and closing ceremonies take place. Beijing was awarded the contract for the Winter Games on July 31, 2015 at the IOC session in Kuala Lumpur. China prevailed against Astana (Kazakhstan) with 44:40 votes.
Olympic Games and Beijing? That definitely doesn’t work without self-PR and display. The Chinese are known for the fact that the external image is extremely important to them. You want to present yourself to the world from the progressive side. 5G, driverless buses, or the advantages of virtual reality when reporting on the competitions are just as much presentation topics as trying to carry out games that are as green as possible. Allegedly, the snowmaking machines were set to the nearest centimeter. In addition, the water should be reused.
To ensure smooth games, Beijing has a rigorous zero-covid policy. Under no circumstances does the country want the virus to be reimported from abroad. As is well known, the pandemic began in China two years ago. Particularly tricky: the Winter Olympics coincide with the Chinese New Year. Ordinarily, millions of people travel. The Chinese government wants to counteract this and is offering cash bonuses for staying at home.
Beijing is dressing up again – as in 2008 – for the games. To ensure clean air, the industry was shut down. In addition, the school holidays have been postponed – this is intended to curb traffic. The image to the outside world is still the most important thing for the Chinese. The huge capital is gearing up again for a spectacle and is in a constant state of alarm. There are fever stations in every building. In addition, access codes are strictly registered. In any case, the Chinese don’t want to leave anything to chance at the Winter Games.
