Beijing will highlight athletes' experience and sustainability as priorities in its preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympics, said Yang Yang, a top political advisor and member of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics organizing committee.[Special coverage]
Beijing will honor its promise made in the candidature phase to host athlete-centered Winter Olympic Games in 2022 by providing welcoming services for athletes and striving for their best benefit during the Games, said Yang, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, from the sideline of the meeting's opening session on Saturday.
"To meet the demands of participating athletes plays a big part in the success of hosting the Olympics. We hope to turn every athlete into our promoter in 2022 by providing them the best services as we can," said Yang, the chairwoman of the Athletes' Commission of Beijing 2022 and a former International Olympic Committee member.
To better guide its preparation toward the athletes' needs, the Beijing 2022 organizing committee established an athletes' commission consisting of 21 members in November.
Yang said the commission will get involved in every aspect of organizational work, including accommodation, catering, transport and venue operation.
To guarantee enough tickets for every athlete's family so they can cheer for their loved ones on site is one of the key services the commission is trying to provide, said Yang.
Meanwhile, Beijing 2022 also attaches great importance in the post-Olympics operation of legacies in facilities and expertise, Yang added.
"As long as our national strategy to involve 300 million people in winter sports rolls out successfully, we don't need to worry about the use of abundant winter sports infrastructures after the Games," she said.
To make sure Chinese athletes' performances are as successful as the organizational work, the country's winter sports governing body has been pulling out all the stops to build teams in winter sports that they've never participated in, expand its prowess to once-niche events and strengthen its dominance in traditional strong events. The aim is that Chinese athletes will compete in all 102 events at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Yang said.
