Beijing 2022 to boost winter sports market by inspiring 300 million people to take up winter sports

Sporting events staged at the foot of the iconic Great Wall of China sets stunningbackdrop to showcase Olympic and Paralympic Winter sports to the world

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commissiontoday visited Zhangjiakou, a popular skiing destination for over a decade that attracts1.5 million people annually. With Zhangjiakou zone events set to be staged at the foot ofthe iconic Great Wall of China, Beijing 2022 has underlined how this stunning backdropcan best showcase Olympic and Paralympic sports to millions of fans in China and acrossthe world.

The ‘Zhangjiakou Zone’ of Games venues will be just 50 minutes away from Beijing cityby modern high-speed bullet train connection, while travel time from the OlympicVillage to any Olympic venue will be within just 5 to 15 minutes to provide maximumconvenience for athletes. It would host the snowboarding, freestyle skiing, crosscountry,ski jumping, Nordic combined and biathlon events at the 2022 Olympic WinterGames.

With five established ski resorts successfully operating in the area and enjoying agrowing number of winter sports visitors every year, Zhangjiakou is one of the keydestinations which will help deliver China’s ambition to rapidly expand the winter sportsindustry across the country and wider region. The desire to grow of the winter sportmarket is underpinned by an established plan by Chinese President Xi Jinping, to attractan additional 300 million people in the country to participate in winter sport.

In a strong effort to support Olympic Agenda 2020, the planned use of existing facilitiesin Zhangjiakou for Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games providessignificant ability to manage costs economically and limit the impact of environmentalaspects. Existing international standard hotels, trails, cable-cars and reservoirs will beutilized without additional build required.

Having so many people of all ages participating in winter sports represents anunprecedented historical opportunity for the sustainability of the Olympic Movement.While Beijing 2022 will bring the Olympic Winter Games directly to local residents,Beijing 2022 will also connect these people directly with the Olympic Movement. Chinais dedicated to establishing a fully all-year-round sports culture and develop China’shuge winter sports market potential by encouraging public participation in winter sports.In this way, Beijing 2022 will also help promote healthy lifestyle across China. Beijing2022 will directly contribute to creating approximately 600,000 additional jobs withinthe plan to develop sport, culture and tourism in the region, as well as providing asignificant boost to the development of China’s winter sports industry.

In recent years, many ski courses in the area have been approved by the InternationalSki Federation (FIS) with a large number of national and international ski competitionshosted, including the FIS RACE and the FIS Far East Cup ski events. Zhangjiakou is alsothe training and competition base of the Chinese National Ski Team, and it isexperiencing increasing popularity – both for professional and leisure skiers fromsurrounding countries.

All Beijing 2022 snow venues will remain a legacy for the Olympic Movement worldwideand will continue to serve as both domestic and international competition and trainingvenues, while the on-going development of leisure skiers’ tourism in the area is alsoexpected to be significantly boosted by the Games.

Beijing 2022 Games will also provide an outstanding opportunity to further promoteParalympic winter sports and to give 85 million people living with impairment in Chinathe chance to take part in sports all-year-round.

Speaking at a media briefing this afternoon, Hou Bin, Paralympic high jump championand Beijing 2022 Ambassador, said: "Sport and Paralympic Games completely changedmy life and I couldn’t imagine to be who I am today if I didn’t have this opportunity. Iwitnessed life of people with disabilities in my country change to the better as a resultof the Beijing 2008 Summer Games and I am convinced that hosting Beijing 2022Paralympic Winter Games with more opportunities to live their lives to the fullest andenjoy sports and an accessible environment all-year-round."

The IOC Evaluation Commission members were provided with a full day of visits toproposed venues and sites in Zhangjiakou, including the popular and established Genting Secret Garden Ski Resort, which will host snowboarding and freestyle skiing. Itwill also host the Mountain Media Centre, which is planned as a temporary facility to bedismantled after the Games, and will include the Olympic Village, which will become aresidential area once the Games are over.

The delegation visited the sites proposed for the Nordic and the Biathlon Centres, a trulyunique location at the foot of the Great Wall which will provide a stunning backdrop forthe Games spectators and millions of fans worldwide watching the broadcast of theGames.

Upon their return to Beijing in the evening, members of the IOC Evaluation Commissionhad an opportunity to visit the National Convention Centre, which successfully hostedthe International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in 2008 and fully complies with space, technicaland location requirements to serve as the Main Media Centre during the 2022 Games.

Smooth and efficient media operations were one of the strong successes of the 2008Games. Beijing 2022 will build on this experience to ensure broad coverage of theGames which will reach even more winter sports fans all over the world.

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