People celebrate at Olympic Plaza as Beijing wins the bidding for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games on July 31, 2015. (Photo : Getty Images)
Beijing has officially launched preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games on Tuesday, Nov. 3, as the Chinese capital hosted the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 Orientation Seminar.
The seminar, conducted by a delegation of 12 International Olympic Committee (IOC) members, is the first meeting between the IOC and the Beijing organizers after the city won the right to host both the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Cristophe Dubi, executive director of the IOC Olympic Games and the leader of the IOC delegation in Beijing, told the China Daily newspaper that the meeting is a "very important milestone."
"It's really the first step to building two things--one, a very powerful relationship between all of us, and second, to establish foundations to start the actual work of preparation," he said.
Dubi added that the next phase for Beijing is to form an organizing committee through which the two parties can cooperate.
On July 31, Beijing, along with co-bidder Zhangjiakou City in neighboring Hebei Province, won against Almaty, Kazakhstan, to host the 2022 Winter Games. According to the host city contract, Beijing has to set up an organizing committee for the events by next month.
Citing the good performances of home athletes as essential to a successful Olympic Games, Dubi expressed confidence with the Beijing organizers.
"It's good to see the traditional icons shining in the sports but to have local athletes is tremendously important," he said.
As promised by Beijing in its bid, an estimated 300 million people are expected to flock in northern China to watch the Winter Games. For competitive sports, the government has promised to invest $300 million to cultivate sports that China has yet to fully develop and support the niche events where the country is lagging behind.
During the two-day seminar, the visiting IOC group will meet with their Chinese counterparts and discuss a variety of topics, including opportunities for Beijing, key deliverables, and management of the games.
"The IOC delegation's visit will deepen Beijing's understanding of how to organize a successful 2022 Olympic Winter Games, and lay good foundations for the organizing committee's work over the next seven years," said Beijing Mayor Wang Anshun.
