Workers arrange the Winter Olympics-themed Chinese knot set up at Tian’anmen Square in Beijing, China.
Wang Xin/VCG by way of Getty Images
It looks as if the Olympics simply ended, however the Beijing Winter Games are simply across the nook. The pandemic pushed the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics again a 12 months, which suggests the Winter Games are beginning a mere six months after the summer time competitors ended.
The Tokyo Games have been a well-publicized wrestle. Despite tight quarantine guidelines, many athletes and different individuals linked to the video games examined optimistic for COVID-19.
The Beijing Games are already difficult for a number of causes. The United States, Australia, Britain and Canada have introduced a diplomatic boycott of the Games, which means prime authorities officers will not attend. The boycott is supposed to protest China’s human rights points. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, particularly cited “genocide and crimes towards humanity.” But the boycott solely impacts politicians who can be attending as spectators. The nations are nonetheless sending their athletes.
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Here’s a rundown on the knowledge it’s essential know in regards to the upcoming occasion:
When are the Winter Olympics?
The Beijing Winter Olympics will maintain opening ceremonies on Friday, Feb. 4. Closing ceremonies will happen Sunday, Feb. 20.
How to observe the Olympics
Beijing is eight hours forward of the UK time zone, 13 hours forward of the US Eastern time zone and 16 hours forward of the US Pacific time zone. (And for these in Australia within the AEDT time zone, Beijing is three hours behind.) Evening occasions, together with the favored opening ceremonies, will air reside within the morning US time. The full schedule of occasions is already reside. Here’s easy methods to view the competitors in quite a lot of alternative ways:
NBC
NBC is airing the Games, so if you happen to get your native NBC broadcast channel, you’ll be able to watch the Olympics there.
Peacock
If you wish to be extra in charge of which occasions you watch at sure occasions, NBC streaming service Peacock will present all of the occasions each reside and on demand.
NBCOlympics.com and NBCSports.com
If you’ve got a cable TV log-in, you’ll be able to stream reside occasions on each NBCOlympics.com and NBCSports.com.
More choices
Sling TV, YouTube TV and Hulu Plus Live TV will broadcast Olympics occasions.
New Winter Olympics occasions
There are seven new sports activities on the Beijing Winter Olympics:
Monobob
This women-only bobsled occasion is a one-person present. The athlete should push their bobsled, leap into it on the proper time and drive it down the icy monitor. Women additionally race in two-person bobsled and males race in two- and four-person bobsled groups, however solely girls will compete in monobob.
Mixed-team aerials in freestyle snowboarding
Skiers carry out in groups of three, with every crew that includes a minimum of one male and one feminine. Athletes ski down a ramp and do fancy flips and twists within the air. The particular person scores are added collectively, and the highest-scoring crew wins. Unlike ski leaping, the place the ramp flattens out on the finish, the aerials ramp shoots straight up on the finish, propelling skiers 5 tales within the air.
Men’s large air in freestyle snowboarding
Women’s large air in freestyle snowboarding
Snowboard large air was already an Olympic occasion, however now the skiers are getting their shot. In occasions just like the mixed-team aerials occasion described above, skiers try their greatest twists and jumps after snowboarding down a 60-foot ramp. Big air competitors lets the athletes bounce 3 times and provides up the factors scored on their greatest two jumps.
Mixed crew relay in short-track speedskating
Several occasions are providing mixed-gender groups this 12 months, and this short-track speedskating relay is certainly one of them. Four skaters, two males and two girls, make up every crew and so they cowl 18 laps of the monitor, with every skater racing twice through the relay.
Mixed crew occasion in ski leaping
The combined ski leaping groups, like speedskating, will function 4 athletes — two males and two girls. Each skier jumps as soon as, and jumps are scored for distance traveled and the type of the bounce.
Mixed crew snowboard cross
Snowboard cross is a race that features large air jumps and high-banked turns and options quite a few athletes competing on the identical course at one time. Each crew has one male and one feminine. When the primary athlete finishes the course, the beginning gate mechanically opens for his or her teammate to hurry down the hill.
Workers put together the ice on the Capital Indoor Stadium forward of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
François-Xavier Marit/AFP by way of Getty Images
What are the COVID-19 precautions?
The Olympics are being held in Beijing, China, about 650 miles (about 1050 km) north of Wuhan, the place the COVID-19 coronavirus was first found two years in the past. You can wager nobody concerned with the Olympics is forgetting that truth.
The organizers of the Games are implementing some extraordinarily strict guidelines:
Only residents of China can attend the Games.Spectators are allowed to clap, however requested to not shout their help.Support workers, together with waiters and cleaners, are usually not allowed to go away the Olympic venues to go to their households.Olympic members leaving the Games space to journey to different elements of China should spend a minimum of per week in quarantine, adopted by a minimum of two weeks of isolation at house.
Who can attend the Olympics?
As famous above, no non-Chinese spectators can be allowed to attend. The New York Times reviews that “vaccinated international athletes, trainers, coaches, referees, journalists and some others” can enter the nation with out the same old two-plus weeks of quarantine adopted by one week of house confinement.
Where is the following Winter Olympics after Beijing?
The subsequent Winter Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 6 to 22, 2026, within the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. It’s the one future Winter Olympics location introduced but.
As for the Summer Olympics, Paris will host in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028, and Brisbane, Australia, in 2032.