Beijing unveils Winter Olympic emblems
China vows to hold low-cost games with only one new venue to be built
Beijing on Friday unveiled its emblem for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, as it aims to boost the popularity of winter sports in the country.
The 2022 Olympic emblem – which was purposely unveiled at 20:22 on Friday, echoing the year 2022 – features the Chinese character dong, which means winter.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said launching the emblem is a “milestone” for China, as it is a “symbol of ambitions and dreams.”
“It will build the excitement and anticipation in China and around the whole world for our shared goal of an outstanding Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022,” Bach said in a congratulatory video.
“With the emblem, there will be a common image for people through the globe to connect with … We will be at your side for every step of the way to make this Chinese dream a reality.”
The 2022 Paralympics emblem was also unveiled at the same ceremony on Friday. It is based on the Chinese character fei, meaning flying in Chinese.
Friday also marks the second anniversary of establishing the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Designers all over the world submitted designs for the emblems. The committee chose a design by Lin Cunzhen, which was one of 4,506 entries.
“Athletes are the core of the Olympic Games, that’s the reason the emblems look actionfilled,” Lin said in a statement. “It’s a combination of both ice and snow sports.”
Beijing is set to become the first city in the world to host both Summer and Winter Olympic Games, following the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which won worldwide praise.
Beijing has vowed to have a low-cost Winter Olympic Games, as only one new venue is to be built – the National Skating Oval, which is to be completed by the end of 2019.
The opening ceremony of 2022 Games will be held at the Bird’s Nest – or China’s National Stadium, the main venue of 2008 Summer Olympic – on February 4, 2022. The date marks the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2022.
The 2022 Games will have its ice events in downtown Beijing and Beijing’s Yanqing district will host the luge, bobsleigh and alpine skiing events while Chongli, a county 230 kilometers from Beijing, will hold other skiing competitions.
China hopes to encourage 300 million people participating in winter sports by 2022.
Compared with China’s dominance in Summer Olympic Games, the world’s most populous country is strengthening its development of winter sports athletes.
The launch of 2022 emblems comes just two months ahead of the Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea, where Team China are expected to participate in all events, the first time for them to do so.