After Tokyo, the Beijing Olympics promised colder weather but more intense rhetoric

If the just-concluded Tokyo Olympics are unforgettable because of the silence of the venues, then the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics is being dominated by high-decibel politics.

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Olympics is scheduled to be held 180 days later at the same Bird’s Nest Stadium used for the 2008 Summer Olympics in the Chinese capital. After Covid-19 forced Tokyo to postpone it for a year, the six-month gap marked the shortest turnaround time between the Olympic Games.

Little is known about how Beijing’s organizers will deal with the pandemic-related issues that Tokyo has struggled to resolve over the past few months. The Tokyo Olympics banned spectators from entering the venue and imposed unprecedented restrictions on the movement of foreign tourists. As the Beijing Olympics approached, Chinese organizers had little to say about ticket sales, tourist documents, or quarantine procedures.

Last month, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Say China is fully confident to take over the baton from Tokyo and promises to host a simple, safe and exciting Olympic event. After basically controlling Covid-19 through strict border controls and local blockades for more than a year, China is currently fighting a series of outbreaks caused by delta strains.

Beijing 2022 will follow the Tokyo Olympics. The Chinese Olympic team has achieved a strong performance and won 38 gold medals, only behind the United States.Its 88 medals are concentrated in traditional power fields such as diving, gymnastics and shooting, and it also ranks second on the medal list, second only to the United States.