MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. The Opening Ceremony of the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China, is taking place on February 4 and TASS has prepared some background info.
Host cities choice for 2022 Olympics
During the 128th IOC (the International Olympic Committee) session in Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2015, Beijing was chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games making the Chinese capital the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games (in 2008) as well as the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (in 2022). Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Olympics and Paralympics in a tight race, beating Kazakhstan’s Almaty in 2015, by chalking up 44 votes against its rival’s 40.
2022 Olympic Games dates
The 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be held from February 4 to 20, running for 17 days with the first set of medals at stake on February 5.
Participants
About 3,000 athletes representing 91 countries are expected to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China.
Participating teams in numbers
The most represented team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will be the team from the United States boasting a total of 224 athletes on its national roster. The ROC (the Russian Olympic Committee) Team sent 212 athletes, while hosts China will be represented by 176 athletes.
Age-criteria records among Olympic participants
According to various media outlets, Russia’s 15-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva will be the youngest participant of the 2022 Winter Games.
The eldest participant of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing will be Germany’s 49-year-old speed skater Claudia Pechstein, who is a five-time Olympic Champion, winning her first Olympic gold at the 1994 Winter Games in Norway’s Lillehammer.
2022 Winter Games program
The program of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games includes 15 disciplines: Alpine Skiing; Biathlon; Bobsleigh; Cross-Country Skiing; Curling; Figure Skating; Freestyle Skiing; Ice Hockey; Luge; Nordic Combined; Short Track Speed Skating; Skeleton; Ski Jumping; Snowboarding; Speed Skating.
2022 Olympics organization
The announced budget for the organization of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing stands at $3.9 billion. Some 19,000 volunteers will be providing their services during the Games.