Thought of the Day - November 24 2021 - China Here We Come

It has been two months since we talked about the Olympics. Since then the flame arrived from Greece, to continue to excite Olympic Fever ( Thought of the Day - September 23 2021 - Olympic Fever ). Illustrating the level of engagement in China more than a million people applied to get one of the 20,000 volunteer positions in and around the Games.

From February 2 to 4 next year, 1,200 torchbearers will carry the flame on an abbreviated route through the three cities of Beijing, Yanqing and the district of Zhangjiakou, which are the competition venues. This will kick off the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games that run from February 4 to 20.

According to Beijing, the 2022 Winter Olympic Games is being used to kick-start a whole new industry in China — winter sports. They expect that as many as 300 million Chinese may don new winter sportswear and utilize facilities around the country. The hope is that their ageing population might reap the health benefits of a more active life.

To minimize the risk that the Olympics could cause an outbreak among the population, Chinese organizers will hold the Games in a Beijing-based "Covid-safe bubble", intended to separate athletes and participants from local residents. Despite having reported only 165 new infections in the last week country-wide, there is a warning that anyone who leaves Beijing now cannot return. Unless vaccinated or have a valid medical exemption, all athletes will be required to quarantine for 21 days upon their arrival. Only people who live in mainland China will be allowed to attend the Games as spectators.

Many believe COVID-19 is being used as a convenient excuse to restrict access to athletes, officials, and venues. On the flip side, a risk-averse IOC is conscious of how damning media coverage would be if there was a major outbreak of the virus in either the athletes' village or amongst the Olympic workforce, including the media contingent.

Layered on top is China's zero-COVID policy. Beijing officials have now closed a number of entertainment venues. Last month, 30,000 visitors to Shanghai Disneyland found themselves locked in after a person who had been to the park tested positive. Teams of healthcare workers arrived in hazmat suits to conduct mandatory testing before anybody could leave.

In the west rumours of boycotts continue. However, in September it was announced that North Korea was suspended from the Beijing Winter Games, as the country failed to send a team to the Tokyo Olympics. It will be interesting to see, if any country boycotts the Beijing Olympics, if the IOC follows suit or if they will have a double standard.

Following concerns that China would, like Vancouver, be forced to make significant quantities of snow for the venues, Beijing actually saw an unexpected early snowfall. The Chinese capital’s first snow arrived on November 6, 23 days earlier than average. Beijing’s temperature also hit a 10-year record low earlier this month. It looks like mother nature might just cooperate.

Cheers

Cliff