With five months to go until the 2022 Winter Olympics, one big question that has loomed large over the Games has now been answered – NHL players will again be back at the Olympics having been forced to skip Pyeongchang in 2018. That means Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and many more will actually be in Beijing – and soon! Let’s take a look at what this means – for the players, for the Olympics and for hockey fans worldwide.
Continue reading Confirmed: NHL Stars Set to Play at 2022 Beijing OlympicsTag Archives: Pyeongchang 2018
37 Weeks To the Beijing Olympics: Nancy Pelosi & The Scandinavians
In this week’s look at all the latest news in the build-up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics:
- Nancy Pelosi wheels out some old China material
- China Daily slams Olympic ice hockey team’s “poor preparations”
- An insider’s guide to the Nordic Skiing events at Beijing 2022
- The latest boycott threats from around the world
- All the other features and stories of interest
40 Weeks To Go: Cotton Socks, Robotaxis & Tchaikovsky
It’s really quite extraordinary that there are only 40 weeks to go until the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and yet we still have no idea what it’s going to look like, or even who will be there. Ticketing has yet to start, sponsors have little idea what they can do – and we won’t have answers to any of these questions (and more) for several more months at least.
But that is the COVID reality. For one of the most meticulously planned events in the world, flexibility has become a necessary. It’s unsettling, but in the context of the rest of the global headlines, it’s still fairly inconsequential.
The IOC has its hands overflowing with Tokyo logistics right now, but it’s already taking center stage for Beijing, with allegations of suppliers sourcing from Xinjiang and suppressions of freedom over the Rule 50 refresh. The fun continues…
Weekly Roundup
- IOC in cotton debate over Anta uniforms
- Chinese athletes skew IOC protest poll on Rule 50
- FIS Presidential candidate pumps China’s tires
- Russian anthem to be replaced by Tchaikovsky
- More boycott news from around the world
- Other features and stories in the build-up to Beijing 2022
300 Days To Go: BioNTech Vaccine in China & Boycott Threats Ease
There are now just 300 days to go until the Beijing Winter Olympics, but with Tokyo into its final runway – marking 100 days to go this week – the Beijing Olympics are in a bit of a holding pattern. All eyes are now turning towards Japan to see how it handles the Games, and China will no doubt be basing many decisions for 2022 on what happens this summer. But with more concrete news on a possible BioNTech vaccine in China, plus the US backing off its boycott talk – at least for now – it’s certainly been a better week for Beijing Organizing Committee.
Weekly Roundup
- Government set to approve BioNTech vaccine in China
- Test events finish second round
- President Xi pledges “simple, safe and splendid Olympics”
- “Too early” for US to discuss boycott
- More boycott news from around the world
- Other features and stories in the build-up to Beijing 2022
43 Weeks To Go: Ping Pong Diplomacy & Canadian’s Chinese Dream
Do we really have another 43 weeks of boycott talk to go before the Beijing Winter Olympics? As the peerless China watcher Bill Bishop wrote this week, a boycott is “highly unlikely”, but it’s connected to so many other China issues du jour that the column inches just keep flowing. As always, there’s a round-up below, but plenty of other stuff, too, including Ping Pong Diplomacy, which happened exactly 50 years ago today (April 10). If you have any questions or specific topics of interest you’d like to see covered, please feel free to comment or email me at mark@chinasportsinsider.com
Weekly Roundup
- 50th anniversary of Ping Pong Diplomacy
- Canadian heptathlete gains Chinese citizenship in Olympic bid
- How legitimate are the rescheduled Olympic test events?
- US discusses a boycott with allies – then backtracks
- More boycott news from around the world
- Other features and stories in the build-up to Beijing 2022
44 Weeks To Go: Test Events, Nike Reprieve & Chengdu Postponement
The Economist this week asked “Will countries boycott China’s Olympics in 2022?“, concluding that “if an Olympic boycott movement gains momentum, it may be due as much to China’s behavior abroad as to its abuses at home.” It’s a different take to most of the articles we’ve seen in recent weeks, but wraps in some of the other elements going on, of which there is more below.
Weekly Roundup
- Olympic test events get underway
- Nike Xinjiang update
- 2021 World University Games postponed to 2022
- US ice hockey moves suggests NHL players will return to Olympics
- Joint Korean train ride proposed
- Boycott threats from around the world
- Other features and stories in the build-up to Beijing 2022
48 Weeks To Go: Counter-Attacks & Paralympic Prep
I usually try and start with something other than the boycott news, but there’s been a marked change in the conversation this week – namely that the counter narrative from Beijing has begun. Global Times editor Hu Xijin tested the waters a week ago, with the threat that foreign countries would be punished if they boycotted the Games. He’s no longer the sole voice, with plenty of opportunities for interviews provided by the ongoing Two Sessions, China’s most important annual political meetings – the NPC and CPPCC.
Weekly Roundup
- Counter attacks from Beijing
- Boycott threats from around the world
- Paralympics 1 year to go
- Chengdu Olympic hopes dashed
- Other features and stories in the build-up to 2022
The Olympic Games are heading to…Chengdu?
Currently known as the city to visit if you want to see pandas, Chengdu is looking to put itself on the global sports map, with an official proposal to bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics.
China leaves Pyeongchang on a high
Experience is key for Team China in Pyeongchang
Here is a summary of this week’s China Sports column for SupChina, which was first published here.
Continue reading Experience is key for Team China in Pyeongchang