By Tony Munroe

BEIJING (Reuters – Beijing Winter Olympics opens in a week. The Games are now at the centre of attention after a series of delays caused by diplomat boycotts and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have made preparations difficult.

Beijing will host the Summer Games and Winter Games for the first time. Some venues that were used in 2008, such as the Bird’s Nest Stadium, will also be reused. Zhang Yimou, the renowned Chinese director, will oversee the opening ceremonies.

Nearly everything is unique.

While the 2008 Summer Games was a spectacular showcase of China’s rising power, the Winter Olympics will take place in a country far wealthier and more powerful than that. President Xi Jinping has made the Olympics more dictatorial and at odds with the West.

China’s COVID-19-era isolation has seen it cancel nearly all international flights and force Olympic athletes to fly on charters directly into the Games bubble.

Like 2008, again, Olympics has placed a spotlight onto China’s human-rights record. This led Washington to label Beijing’s treatment Uyghur Muslims as genocide. It also prompted a diplomatic boycott by other countries.

China has denied any abuse allegations and repeatedly protested against the politicization.

China’s 2008 Olympics was a strong source of soft power as it sought to gain global influence. Rana Mitter at Oxford University is an Oxford University professor of Chinese political history.

The Chinese Communist Party is hoping the Winter Olympics 2022 could reverse that situation.

However, Games organizers are expected to launch amid growing geopolitical tension. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Beijing along with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

A DIFFERENT TIME

The summer carnival spirit of 2008 is gone from Beijing’s streets. Instead, Beijingers are resigned to the fact that COVID-19 has not spread from the recent clusters (including the transmissible Omicron variant).

Many would-be attendees are disappointed that tickets will not be available for purchase. Event attendees will attend events with what is expected to be a smaller, more curated group subject to strict COVID-19 control.

Games take place in a “closed loop”, which will be much more tight than last year’s Tokyo Games. Omicron will test the Games, as it is thriving in western countries with winter sports power.

Some delegations are concerned about the security of data and have advised members to take burner phones.

As well as the risks associated with speaking out about politically sensitive topics, rights groups and athletes were also cautioned by Chinese authorities.

Peng Shuai, a Chinese tennis player and ex-Olympian, was accused by a senior Chinese politician of sexual assault. He then disappeared for several months, fueling criticism of China’s hostility to the event.

Peng claimed that Peng’s social media posts were misunderstood. The Women’s Tennis Association was worried about Peng’s well-being and suspended Chinese tournaments.

A U.S. Olympian said to Reuters that speaking out about human rights would be dangerous for her safety.

According to her, “I believe China has demonstrated – Peng Shuai being the latest example – that their willingness to go to extreme measures in order to silence any type of rhetoric they find offensive,” she stated. She declined to name the subject due to the sensitive nature of the matter.

An official from China recently stated that an athlete who breaks the Olympic spirit, Chinese rules, or other Olympic principles could face punishment. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), however, has said that athletes can freely express their views in press conferences, interviews, and within the bubble. But they cannot participate in medal or competition ceremonies.

SAFE CHOICE

Beijing received the 2022 Winter Games host rights in 2015. This was after many bid-candidates dropped out including Oslo. The IOC chose Beijing, despite little snow and winter sports history.

China showed its confidence in China by showing efficiency and planning despite concern about the negative environmental effects of snowmaking. The country has been able to clean Beijing’s notoriously cloudy skies and plant a lot of trees.

The Beijing Games will take place, no matter what, unlike Tokyo’s Summer Games which were delayed by COVID-19 for a year.

Ye Wenxiaoyu (a volunteer for Games at 20 years) said, “I felt like the 2008 Olympic Games had been very grand. It was a stunning show to the whole world.” The Winter Olympics this year will be simple and low-carbon, but that will not diminish the amazingness of it.