Winter Games promote a shared future

Editor's note: Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games were not only "safe, simple and splendid", as the organizers had promised, but also an inspiring sports gala that will attract more and more people across the country to take up winter sports, which in turn will help boost the sports and tourism industries. What influence will the Winter Games have on the world? Three experts share their views on the issue with China Daily.

The opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games demonstrated that life is endless against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is yet to be effectively contained worldwide.

From the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony, from the preparations for the Games to venue designs and holding of the events, from the participation of athletes to the valuable services of volunteers, the Beijing Winter Olympic, and Paralympic Games which concluded on Sunday, were an exercise in building a community with a shared future for mankind.

The international situation remains uncertain due to global challenges such as the pandemic, climate change, rising inequity and conflicts. Yet the desire of the people to overcome all odds and move forward together has never been stronger than today. It is this desire that was reflected in the Olympic flame, which symbolizes light, unity, friendship, peace and justice and was ignited in Beijing again, after 14 years.

Indeed, the Beijing Winter Games represented lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusiveness, which are what a community with a shared future for mankind is all about.

As promised, the organizers presented a safe, simple and yet splendid Winter Games, which incidentally was the first major global sporting event to be held on schedule since the pandemic broke out and conveyed the message, "I am safe if you are safe".

The closed-loop management of the Winter Games ensured the safety of the athletes, officials and the venues, and the accurate testing and use of the internet of things prevented not only novel coronavirus infections but also any disruptions in broadcasting of the events to the international audiences.

The Beijing Winter Games also heralded a new era. For example, it took the United States, Canada and European countries about 50 years to develop the ice and snow sports industry, but China has formed a basic winter sports industrial ecosystem in just five years.

The realization of the goal of driving 300 million people to take up ice and snow sports will help more people understand and enjoy winter sports and create business opportunities for the winter sports and related service industries.

The Beijing Winter Games also highlighted the importance of low-carbon and sustainable development. That Beijing's "Water Cube" became the world's first national aquatics center to be transformed into an "Ice Cube" shows how China kept new constructions to the barest minimum to prevent carbon emissions.

Similarly, the Capital Gymnasium was changed from a volleyball venue to a winter sports center, and the Wukesong Sports Center was transformed from a basketball venue to an ice sports center in six hours. Many other venues were transformed in the same way to ensure the 2008 Summer Games' venues were put to sustainable use.

Moreover, all the newly-built venues for the Winter Games got the Samsung Green Building Design Logo; all the venues used "green electricity", the first time in Olympic history; and all vehicles transporting people at venues used energy-saving technology, with 85.84 percent of them using clean energy.

The Beijing Winter Games also ensured fair competition, promoted solidarity and fraternity in line with the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind. Gu Ailing, for instance, who won two gold medals and a silver medal, expressed her gratitude to both the Chinese and the US teams because she lives in the United States but represented China at the Games. More important, she said that she would use sports as a uniting force between countries.

Athens, Paris and Beijing constitute a triangle in terms of Olympic culture and development. Athens is where the Olympics began in ancient Greece and thus the source of the Olympic spirit, Paris hosted the first modern Olympics and started the modern Olympic movement. And Beijing is the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games, and use a plethora of innovative means and advanced technology to present a green, low-carbon Olympics.

The three cities will join hands with members of the Olympic family, including the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Programme Commission, different national Olympic committees, and the host countries and cities of every Olympic Games to establish a modern Olympic culture communication system.

And the establishment of a future-oriented, multi-level and open Olympic culture communication system, consisting of "school sports, community sports, urban system, Olympic Games and Olympic culture dissemination", will help build a community with a shared future for mankind.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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