4
Feb
Beijing 2022
XXIV Olympic Winter Games, an international winter multi-sport event, started in China today. Preliminary events began on 2 February while the games officially opened on 4 February. The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 4 February 2022 at Beijing National Stadium also known as the Bird's Nest.
Bing Dwen Dwen is the mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics. "Bing" means ice in Chinese and symbolises purity and strength. "Dwen Dwen" means robustness, liveliness, and youth. Bing Dwen Dwen's astronaut-like clothes imply that the Winter Olympics embraces new technologies and create possibilities.
The Games' official slogan is "Together for a Shared Future", which reflects "the power of the Games to overcome global challenges as a community".
Beijing and the surrounding regions of the Yanqing District and Chongli District will provide 26 venues (including training venues) for the sports competitions. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the implementation of health and safety protocols including restrictions on public attendance at the Games.
Unlike past Olympics, the final torchbearers, Olympians Dinigeer Yilamujiang and Zhao Jiawen did not light a cauldron but fitted the torch into the centre of a large stylised snowflake-shaped Olympic Cauldron, constructed from placards bearing the names of participating countries.
The 2022 Winter Olympics are scheduled to include a record 109 events over 15 disciplines in seven sports.
Georgia is competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, with a team of nine athletes (five men and four women) in three sports:
- Luka Berulava (pair skating)
- Anastasia Gubanova (women single skating)
- Soso Japharidze (men's alpine skiing)
- Maria Kazakova (ice dance)
- Saba Kumaritashvili (men's single luge)
- Moris Kvitelashvili (men's single skating)
- Georgy Reviya (ice dance)
- Karina Safina (pair skating)
- Nino Tsiklauri (women's giant slalom)
Georgia qualified for the figure skating team event for the first time.
Flag bearers Nino Tsiklauri and Moris Kvitelashvili of Team Georgia lead the team during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Bird's Nest on 4 February 2022 in Beijing, China.
In Georgia, the Games will be broadcasted by The First Channel and its satellite channel, TV School. The full schedule of Team Georgia can be found HERE.
These are the first Games where Eurosport will be the main rightsholder in the United Kingdom. The BBC will be broadcasting over 300 hours of free-to-air live coverage, as well as highlights programmes, as part of a deal in which the BBC sold the pay-TV rights to the 2018 and 2020 Games to Eurosport.
In the United States, the Games will be broadcast by NBC Universal properties, as part of a US$7.75 billion contract to air the Olympics through 2032.
Canadian cybersecurity research group Citizen Lab warned that the My2022 app provided by Chine specifically for the Games has security vulnerabilities that leave users exposed to data breaches, and that it may be subject to Chinese internet censorship policies. Therefore, some Olympic committees have recommended attendees use burner phones and create email accounts for their time in China while leaving personal smartphones and laptops at home.
On 20 February 2022, the Beijing National Stadium will host the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
From 4 to 13 March 2022, the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games are scheduled to take place in Beijing, China, during which seventy-eight events in five sports will be held: Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing (biathlon and cross-country skiing), para ice hockey, snowboarding, and wheelchair curling. The opening ceremony will be held on 4 March 2022, and the closing ceremony will be held on 13 March 2022.
