New Delhi: The Winter Olympic Games are to be held in Beijing, the capital of China, which will start on February 4. The opening ceremony will be held on Friday at the National Stadium in Beijing. This stadium is also called ‘Bird’s Nest’. Due to Kovid-19, many challenges will have to be faced. The biggest challenge for China is also the safety and health of the players. All the participants participating in the Winter Olympics are being tested daily and no player is allowed to go out of hotels and venues.
91 countries are participating
Players from 91 countries are participating in the Winter Olympic Games. Out of a total of 2871 athletes, 1581 are male while 1290 female players will represent their respective countries. This time a record 109 events will be organized in 7 sports. The opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games was also held at the Beijing National Stadium. Keeping in mind the cold weather and the COVID pandemic, the ceremony is expected to last for around 100 minutes.
Beijing will make history
Beijing was chosen as the host city at the 128th session of the International Olympic Committee in Kuala Lumpur in July 2015. The 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be the first in China, the second Olympics overall, and the third consecutive Olympic Games in East Asia. Earlier the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were also held last year. With this, Beijing will also become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The 2008 Summer Olympic Games were also held in Beijing.
Fake snow being sprinkled for almost 3 months
The special thing is that all the snow that will be seen in the Winter Olympic Games will be artificial. Beijing will be the first city to use fully artificial snow for the Winter Olympics. Due to climate change, it has been decided that the events of the Beijing Olympic Games will be held on artificial snow only. For the Beijing Winter Games, ice-making machines have been brought from an Italian company called Technoalpin. These machines are removing artificial snow since November 2021. Reports suggest that an estimated 49 million gallons of water, which will fill 74 Olympic-sized pools, are needed to make fake ice. Apart from this, 130 fan-operated snow generators and 300 snow-guns have been used.
India refuses to participate in Winter Olympics
India on Thursday announced that the in-charge of the Indian Embassy in Beijing will not attend the opening or closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital to honor a military commander involved in the Galwan Valley conflict as the Olympic torchbearer.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi termed China’s move to honor the military commander in this way as regrettable. In a weekly press briefing, Bagchi said the in-charge of the Indian embassy in Beijing would not attend the opening or closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Asked about China felicitating PLA’s Galwan Valley Commander with the Winter Olympic torch, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said, “We have seen reports on this issue. It is a pity that China chose to politicize an event like the Olympics. ,
Significantly, on 15 June 2020, the regiment commander of the People’s Liberation Army, who was involved in the conflict in Galvan Valley, has been chosen as the torchbearer of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The border dispute in eastern Ladakh escalated after the clashes in the Galwan Valley on 15 June 2020. In this struggle, 20 soldiers of the Indian Army were martyred. In February last year, China officially acknowledged that five of its military officers and soldiers were martyred.
Prasar Bharati will also not broadcast
Prasar Bharati has also refused to broadcast the Winter Olympics after the boycott by the Ministry of External Affairs. Prasar Bharati President Shashi Shekhar Vempati said, “The Ministry of External Affairs will not live telecast the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on DD Sports channel as a result of the announcement by India.”
