Beijing 2022: "Today, China is a winter sport country" (Thomas Bach, IOC)

"Today, China is a winter sport country. The increased physical activity through winter sport is contributing to the health and well-being of the Chinese people," said Thomas Bach (GER), president of the IOC, in his opening speech at the 139^th Session of the International Olympic Committee, in Beijing (CHN) on 03/02/2022.

"Beijing will officially become the first city ever to host both summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games. Well over 300 million Chinese people (346 million or nearly 25% of approximately 1.4 billion) are now taking up sport on snow and ice," said Thomas Bach (full speech available to download).

The Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 - the last Games before Paris 2024 - are being held from 04 to 20/02/2022, with an Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium (the "Bird's Nest") on Friday, 04/02/2022 (from 20:00 local time, 13:00 CET). The Closing Ceremony is scheduled to take place at the same venue on Sunday 20/02/2022. The Paralympic Winter Games will then take place from Friday 04 to Sunday 13/03/2022.

Regarding the economic benefits of the Games, the IOC…