The Imperial City will become the first city in the world to host both the Summer (in 2008) and the Winter Games, from February 4 to 20.
To discover
The results of the 2020 Olympics
The Olympic medal table
Last week, the Olympic flame was handed over to China at a ceremony in Athens, which sparked a protest by activists denouncing the presence of the communist regime in Tibet.
But in addition to human rights issues, the competitions risk being dominated by the fight against Covid-19, six months after the Tokyo Summer Games postponed by a year due to the pandemic.
In this context, the Chinese authorities, who follow a policy of zero contamination, have taken great steps to eradicate a very limited epidemic outbreak in recent days in the north of the country.
On Tuesday, the large city of Lanzhou, located 1,700 km west of Beijing, quarantined its 4 million inhabitants, invited to stay at home unless absolutely necessary, following the discovery of a few dozen cases. .
Vaccination or quarantine
“
The pandemic is the number one challenge for the running of the Winter Games,
” the vice-president of the organizing committee, Zhang Jiandong, summed up to the press.
A dozen provinces, or a third of the total, have stepped up prevention measures, including the city of Beijing, where 20 cases of contamination have been counted in the past week.
The measures planned for the Games "
will reduce the risk and impact of the coronavirus,
" Zhang promised, while warning that participants who did not observe the rules would be penalized.
The 2022 Games will take place in a "
bubble
" intended to eliminate any risk of contamination to the rest of China.
The 2,900 expected athletes must either have been fully vaccinated or undergo a strict 21-day quarantine upon arrival in the country.
Only spectators already present in China will be able to attend the events.
The authorities have planned 300 negative pressure ambulances to transport possible patients, without the risk of contaminated air spreading outside.
The province of Hebei, which surrounds Beijing, announced the installation during the Games of mobile laboratories which will be able to carry out 40,000 screening tests per day.
The first country affected by the pandemic, China practically stopped the virus in the spring of 2020 after the adoption of drastic measures to control residents.
The country has virtually closed its borders to the rest of the world.
Authorities on Wednesday reported 50 new infections in the past 24 hours.
The official toll since the start of the epidemic is less than 100,000 cases, including 4,636 fatalities.
"
Impatience
" and "
enthusiasm
"
Despite the epidemic context, the Pekingese claim to be delighted with the approach of the Games, while a giant clock displays "
100 days
" on the facade of the Olympic tower built on the site of the 2008 events.
“
We are looking forward to this.
We are very proud of this for China
”, assures AFP a resident of the name of Li Shuwei.
Others say they are confident in anti-epidemic measures.
"
The epidemic should not pose big problems if we observe strict isolation
," reassures a lady named Huang Xinyue.
"
It's been going on for a while now ... if everyone is careful, the pandemic will not dampen our enthusiasm.
"
The organizers also presented the medals that will be presented to the athletes on Tuesday: in the form of five circles, they are inspired by ancient Chinese jade pendants.