The organising committee of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games has revealed plans to provide a strong legacy of participation, by creating opportunities for 300 million Chinese people to take part in snow and ice sports.
The legacy plans include a nationwide campaign to promote winter sports in the run-up to 2022, coupled with a strong development pipeline of new sports facilities to accommodate the growing demand.
The Beijing 2022 Organising Committee (BOC 2022) said it had already seen a rapid growth of the winter sports industry in China.
It cited a government report, which showed the estimated worth of the winter sports sector growing by 16 per cent year-on-year – from US$46.2bn in 2017 to US$53.6bn in 2018.
This has led to the creation of 1.5 million jobs – and BOC 2022 anticipates that the level of demand will have an "immense impact on the international winter sports industry".
The announcement was made as members of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Coordination Commission visited Beijing to monitor the city's preparations ahead of 2022.
“Beijing 2022 is delivering on its vision to engage 300 million people in winter sports, and we can see real benefits resulting from the various actions that are being undertaken across the country,” IOC Coordination Commission chair Juan Antonio Samaranch said.
“We have heard about some impressive developments this week that exemplify the vision for winter sports in China in terms of mass participation, elite sport and tourism. This progress is very encouraging for the long-term future of winter sport, both in China and internationally.”
In other news, BOC 2022 confirmed that it had appointed Ali Baba Group as the ticketing systems and services provider for the Games.
The 109 events in seven Olympic winter sports will take place from 4 to 20 February 2022 in the three competition zones of central Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.
