CONSISTENT CONTRIBUTION TO OLYMPIC MOVEMENT
Less than half a year after the Tokyo Olympic Games draws to a close, the world's attention will shift to Beijing, the first city to host both Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
In 2003, Li Jiulin was appointed chief engineer of the construction of the Beijing National Stadium the "Bird's Nest" for the 2008 Olympics at the age of 35.
"At that time, no one in China had the experience to deal with such complicated structural steel construction. None of the foreign experts believed that we could finish the job by ourselves," he recalled.
To solve endless problems, Li and his colleagues completed 13,520 construction drawings based on 150 designs and eventually built the Bird's Nest, the flagship venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
After Beijing won the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Li was tasked with being the chief engineer of the National Speed Skating Oval, known locally as the "Ice Ribbon," due to its distinctive facade.
As the only newly-built venue for ice events in the Beijing competition zone, the "Ice Ribbon" has an ice surface of around 12,000 square meters and can seat 12,000 spectators, making it the largest speed skating venue in Asia.
Except the "Ice Ribbon", China has made efforts to repurpose existing venues from when it hosted the Summer Olympics as 11 venues from Beijing 2008 have been renovated and upgraded for the 2022 Games.
The National Aquatics Center, also known as the "Water Cube," hosted aquatic events during the Beijing Olympic Games and will stage the curling events for Beijing 2022. The National Indoor Stadium will be used for ice hockey, and the "Bird's Nest" is the planned venue for the opening and closing ceremonies.
IOC President Thomas Bach has lavished praise on the Beijing 2022 strategies. "Beijing is making the best out of this because the organizing committee there is using the great legacy of Beijing 2008 for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022," he said.
On May 15, 2020, Beijing 2022 organizers released a sustainability plan that features three key themes: positive environmental impact, a new development for the region and better life for the people. They are supported by 12 sustainable development actions, under which there are 37 critical tasks and 119 specific measures.
"It (sustainability plan) is among the most developed in the history of the Olympic Games," said chairman of IOC Coordination Committee for Beijing 2022 Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr.
The BOCOG's Legacy Report released on June 23 outlines the pre-Games legacies achieved by Beijing 2022 in 13 areas, including the popularization and development of winter sports, urban transformation and upgrade, and regional transformation contributions to poverty alleviation.
Beijing 2022 will be held at a monumental moment, as China has realized its goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
According to the Legacy Report, a record 224 million Chinese people participated in ski and skating activities during the 2018/19 winter season, approaching the country's objective of involving 300 million Chinese people in winter sports.
In terms of urban upgrades and post-games sustainability, BOCOG has renovated and upgraded six venues from Beijing 2008 Games venue legacies to accommodate winter sports, and all permanent venues have sporting and social legacy plans for post-Games usage.
Over one million people at home and abroad have applied to volunteer during the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games, further evidence of the legacy and spirit of volunteerism stemming from the 2008 Olympic Games.
China has built an increasingly closer connection with the Olympic movement over the last 20 years and is set to play an ever more prominent role going forward.
