Existing venues give edge to Beijing bid

By Sun Xiaochen | China Daily | Updated: 2014-11-10 09:26

The venues built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics give the Chinese capital a huge advantage as it looks to host the Winter Games, Sun Xiaochen reports.

The rich legacy of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be a huge advantage for the Chinese capital's bid to host the winter version of the global sporting gala in 2022, according to officials and experts.

If Beijing is chosen, the cost will be low because the infrastructure is almost entirely in place. Building new venues for major sporting events always brings a heavy financial burden for the hosts, but, thanks to the construction boom that accompanied the 2008 Games, Beijing's bid and preparations for the Winter Games won't require a large budget.

"Sustainability is the core value that the International Olympic Committee tries to embody. Reusing the venues built for 2008 is in line with the IOC's philosophy and will significantly cut the cost of hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics," Wang Hui, spokeswoman for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee, said at a recent media briefing.

"The 2008 Olympics left a profound legacy, such as accessible venues and an urban transportation system that we are still using. All these facilities and assets have been operating effectively since then, and will provide Beijing with a big edge in its bid for 2022 event."

Beijing, along with co-host city Zhangjiakou in surrounding Hebei province, made the IOC's shortlist of candidate host in July, and is in a straight fight with the only other bidder, Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan. The IOC will make a decision at a meeting in Malaysia in July.

Of the 11 permanent venues for the 2008 Olympics, five were purpose-built structures, including the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, the National Aquatics Center, aka the Water Cube, and the MasterCard Center, which was formerly the Wukesong Arena.

These landmark venues, which have become hot tourist attractions and homes to commercial sports and entertainment events, will be put into service again for the 2022 Winter Games if the city's bid is successful.

According to the bidding plan, several of the venues used in 2008, including the Water Cube, the National Indoor Stadium, and the MasterCard Center, will stage four ice events, including figure skating, ice hockey and curling, in tandem with the Capital Indoor Stadium.

The Bird's Nest will host the opening and closing ceremonies, and an Athletes' Village will be built in the cultural and business zone of the National Olympics Sports Center.

The only new venue for ice events would be the National Speed Skating Gymnasium, which will be built in downtown Beijing and will host long-distance speed skating.

Positive feedback

Officials from ice-sports' governing bodies were impressed when they visited Beijing to review the 2008 facilities that will be transformed for the 2022 Games.

"They did a fabulous job in 2008 with the Summer Olympics. They have venues here such as the Water Cube that in my understanding will be the host venue for the curling. Beijing would have no problem at all hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics," said Kate Caithness, president of the World Curling Federation, after she visited Beijing in October to inspect the proposed venues.

Caithness pointed out that Beijing's venues and transportation hubs now have more barrier-free access points for disabled people than they did six years ago, which is part of the legacy of 2008.

Delegations from the International Skating Union and the International Ice Hockey Federation also visited the city recently to inspect the facilities. When they departed, the members all gave positive feedback about Beijing's efficient use of its Olympic heritage, according to Wang, the bid committee's spokeswoman.

Still, the rising cost of hosting the winter sports extravaganza, highlighted by the massive $51 billion bill for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and some of the Beijing venues from 2008 that are now unused, have intimidated some people in China.

Jiang Xiaoyu, vice-chairman of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, said most of the deserted venues mentioned in media reports were temporary facilities, which were supposed to be recycled or demolished after the 2008 Games.

"Some of them remained because their managements didn't keep up with the removal project," Jiang said, adding that the reuse of temporary venues often involves a number of government departments and owners, and therefore takes time to accomplish.

"What Beijing has to do is to refurbish and transform the current venues to address the requirements of winter sports, which won't take a lot of funding or resources," he said.

Wei Jizhong, former secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic Committee and a sports industry expert, said the scale of the Winter Olympics is far smaller than the Summer Games, which means it's possible to host the event in a frugal, sustainable manner.

A new venue for snow sports, including alpine skiing, bobsledding and the skeleton, will be built in the Xiaohaituo Mountain area of Yanqing county, 90 km northwest of downtown Beijing. Other skiing events will be staged in Zhangjiakou's Chongli county, about 220 km from Beijing, which will feature updated facilities in four ski resorts.

Unlike the giant permanent venues for the Summer Games, the facilities for the Winter Olympics would be easier to transform immediately for commercial public use during North China's skiing season.

"Given the growing demand for outdoor winter recreation around Beijing, the facilities are unlikely to be wasted. It's kind of a continuation of the Olympic legacy," Wei said.

Contact the writer at sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn