The Beijing Games will include new mixed men's and women's team events in freestyle skiing, short-track speed skating, snowboarding and ski jumping. The Games have been heavily criticized amid allegations of China's human rights abuses , notably towards the minority Uyghur population.
December 30, - The Jing-Zhang high-speed railway goes into service. The driverless bullet train, which can go kilometers per hour mph , connects Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, all three of which will host events during the upcoming Winter Olympics.
February 2, - A letter signed by more than campaign groups calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing warns the Games could "embolden" human rights abuses in China. So, if they were to collectively support a boycott, it could seriously undermine the competition and force IOC action. However, most national Olympic committees, especially those in western democracies, are independent bodies and could ignore a government-led boycott.
Despite heavy lobbying by human rights groups, Olympic sponsors such as Coca Cola, Samsung and Toyota are trying to ignore the politics. Meanwhile, a broadcast boycott , which would also be very powerful, also seems unlikely. As the games get underway, athlete activism could surface.
Former Canadian Olympian and scholar Bruce Kidd has made a plea for athletes not to boycott the games and instead be allowed to protest without contravening the IOC Charter. However, the rules preventing political protests from Olympic athletes were relaxed slightly ahead of the Tokyo games. As we head towards the opening ceremony on February 4, all indications are these games will take place. But Beijing is on track to be one of the most politically-charged games ever. Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth.
Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Beijing Winter Olympics. Beijing Olympics. Our redesigned local news and weather app is live! Download it for iOS or Android — and sign up for alerts. NBC Sports. Here are five athletes to keep an eye on at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Back to Article. Close Menu. Will there be fans at the Olympics? The IOC revealed in late September that Beijing organizers planned to prohibit international spectators, including the family and friends of athletes, from attending the Winter Games but that they would sell tickets to Chinese fans who met certain conditions and complied with COVID protocols. Organizers did not immediately announce how many fans, or what percentage capacity, would be permitted to watch the events at various venues.
In addition to the ban on foreign spectators, Beijing organizers have pledged to create a "closed-loop" system for everyone who travels to China for the Games. Organizers have also all but mandated vaccination at the Winter Olympics. While unvaccinated people will technically be allowed to enter the "closed-loop" bubble, Beijing has indicated that they will have to quarantine in China for 21 days before doing so — a duration of time that would seriously complicate athletes' training regimens, for instance, and likely be a non-starter.
That rule won't be an issue for Team USA, mind you. The U.
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