There [were] many reasons not to look forward to the February 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. But then didn’t we say that before Tokyo?
A Winter of Olympic Discontent
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) really have quite a lot of countries to choose from when awarding the World Cup and Olympics respectively, so it begs belief that they would pick Qatar and China to host 2022’s two major global sporting events.
Not only are they both countries with appalling human rights records and any number of other atrocities that make a boycott seem reasonable, but in even simpler terms the weather situations are shocking.
It is ridiculously hot in Qatar, so much so that the World Cup has been moved six months down the calendar from its normal June/July dates, just so games can be survived in the so-called cooler months. Beijing in February, on the other hand, is not guaranteed snow. There are reports it may have to be shipped in from elsewhere. Snow is quite important when it comes to the Winter Olympics.
FIFA has pretty much admitted they made a mistake, and many of its members have been turfed out for taking bribes. The World Cup will not be moved from Qatar, however, despite requests from other nations.
The IOC is also standing by their decision to take the Winter Games to Beijing, saying it “remains neutral in all global political issues,” which frankly isn’t good enough, given that it has a charter that promotes equality and antidiscrimination.
The genocide of Uyghur Muslims and their enslavement in camps, reportedly revealed by the release of the Xinjiang papers in 2019, should be enough alone to warrant moving the Games. Add the treatment and censorship of journalists — both domestic and foreign — the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, trade sanctions, and the buildup of military might in the South China Sea, and you have a veritable lazy Susan of problems to choose from.
The backlash started slowly. First, the snow issue, then concerns that the creation of venues was harming the local environment, and even that the official song sounded too much like “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen. All pedantic window-dressing ahead of the main event.
Since then, the U.S. has called for a boycott, the U.K. has said they may boycott, Dutch and Canadian MPs have protested, and Australia has grumbled.
A diplomatic boycott seems the likely outcome with athletes still allowed to compete, but China would not be happy. The state-owned Global Times has said China would sanction countries that don’t send official diplomats. The IOC has also doubled down on their poor decision-making by saying sporting sanctions may also follow.
And so at this stage, China seems set to welcome foreigners through its borders between Feb. 4 and Feb. 20, 2022, for the first time since COVID-19 broke out in Wuhan at the end of 2019. With their zero tolerance for the virus, they fully expect zero domestic cases at the start of the Games and stadiums to be packed with vaccinated locals. The rest of the world will therefore see the natural beauty and incredible space age venues of Beijing that can’t help but make China look impressive on the world stage — no matter what else is locked away out of sight.
As for sports, the Winter Olympics are very much variations on a narrow theme — skiing, skating and getting into or onto things that slide down an icy track.
For a couple of nights every four years we love a bit of bobsled, luge and curling (like bowls on ice with manic broom-sweeping, remember?).
Figure skating has genuine beauty, though, and ski jumping requires supreme skill and bravery. The National Hockey League has agreed for players to take part, so we will witness Canada’s brilliance on the ice.
Watch out also for America’s beautiful Chloe Kim, who at only 21 is already defending her 2018 Olympic Gold Medal in the snowboarding halfpipe. Swedish cross-country skier Charlotte Kalla, likely in her last Olympics at age 34, who is already the holder of nine Olympic medals across multiple events. And Yuzuru Hanyu, the slender men’s figure skater from Japan, who seems untouchable for gold again.
The Winter Olympics shouldn’t be happening in Beijing, but they are, and we will love them for the two weeks they are on. That’s what happened in Tokyo, where despite all reservations, it was one of the most memorable games in recent times.
Then from March 2022, let’s look forward to the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, and normal service being resumed.
At this point, of course, we know how this all turned out. The U.S. along with several Western countries boycotted “diplomats” in protest, although this sort of sounds like the neener-neener of the political world. It seems difficult to believe that even one athlete bemoaned, “Gosh. I’m sure I would have completed much more effectively if only the diplomats had been in attendance. That really destroyed my concentration. Woe is me.” … Still, we have the results now, and we can all make of that what we will. (Neener-Neener.)
