OlymPicks: Beijing 2022 Torches Are Ready To Get Lit, Venues Ready To Get Played

In OlymPicks, we highlight news, gossip, and developments regarding the buildup to Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics.

Beijing 2022 torches are ready to get lit

As part of last month’s one-year-to-go festivities, the 2022 Beijing Olympic Committee unveiled final designs for the Olympic and Paralympic torches, which are nicknamed “Flying.” The Olympic torch is a red spiral encased in silver, while the Paralympic torch is gold and silver. Although it (unfortunately) has nothing to do with Game of Thrones, the design is meant to resemble a blazing ribbon of “fire and ice,” symbolizing the idea that the torch “will bring light and warmth to the winter sports celebration,” according to organizers. What’s more, the torches feature a special interlocking design mechanism which will (literally) come in handy when they’re passed from one athlete to another in a tradition known as “the kiss.” According to organizers, that interlocking mechanism is also meant to symbolize Beijing 2022’s “vision to promote mutual understanding and respect between different cultures.” Because when it comes to the Olympics, squeezing symbolism out of every aspect of the Games is an event in and of itself.

The torch design comes from Li Jianye, who beat out 182 international submissions that have been collected since April 2020. Lu Xiaobo, dean of the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University sat on the jury which chose the winning design. Of Li’s vision, Lu said, “The current design strikes a perfect balance between the expression of the host nation’s culture, Olympism, and the demonstration of the latest industrial technology." Likewise, as Beijing is the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games, the 2022 torch is similar in style to that used during the 2008 Summer Games. Made from carbon fiber, it is adorned with snowflakes and clouds, reminiscent of 2008’s “Lucky Cloud” design. Aside from their color schemes, the only other real difference between the Olympic and Paralympic torches is a braille engraving of “Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games” on the latter.

Olympic organizers are yet to announce anything about the relay route the torch and its bearers will take – a tradition that dates back to 1952 – however, in 2008, it passed between roughly 21,800 people across 21 countries.

Beijing 2022 venues are ready for action

As more and more venues for Beijing’s 2022 Winter Olympics are completed, so begins the arduous task of testing all of them to ensure that everything from the tracks themselves to the surrounding infrastructure and operations are up to snuff. This process began last month, with six venues in Beijing and its co-host city, Zhangjiakou, welcoming athletes for the very first time. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, organizers decided last November that all test events would be limited to domestic athletes. There were, however, foreign experts in attendance.

Some of the first events to be tested were bobsled, luge, and skeleton on Feb 19 at the National Sliding Center in Yanqing District. Hu Huilan ranked first in the women’s luge singles, and said of the run, “It’s a long and difficult course that requires skill and rhythm,” adding, “It feels comfortable to slide through.” Meanwhile, on the Paralympics side, para-alpine skier, Liu Sitong said, “I think everything is fine,” (if that’s not a vote of confidence we don’t know what is) adding, “especially the accessibility. There are barrier-free toilets, passages, and ski lifts, which makes it very convenient for us.”

It’s not all sports testing though. Over on Xiaohaituo Mountain, the site of various alpine skiing competitions, meteorologists were busy testing their 17 stations and four backup stations which will “enable accurate weather forecast by the minute for a range of 100 meters.” Everything from wind speed and direction to temperature and humidity has to be taken into account during these events, and thus a reliable, real-time weather tracker is of the utmost importance. In fact, the first scheduled day for the test runs had to be canceled due to low wind speeds and temperatures and was subsequently rescheduled a few more times. “After the committee figured out rescheduling solutions, different departments and working units were able to execute in a coordinated manner, which gave us experience and confidence in handling similar situations during game time, which is proven to be inevitable,” said Yan Cheng, Human Resources director of the Organizing Committee.

Elsewhere, in COVID-19 prevention efforts news, journalists engaged in “non-contact interviews” with athletes, the two separated by a fence. Interesting.

Meanwhile, from Feb 23-26, some of Beijing 2022’s venues began hosting legitimate events and competitions. Specifically, eight para-alpine races at the National Alpine Ski Center in Yanqing, as well as two para-snowboard races and three official training races at the Genting Resort Secret Garden in Zhangjiakou’s Chongli District, all of which were part of this season’s Asian Cup, which has two more stops in Japan next month.

READ: OlymPicks: Chinese-American Skier Makes Historic X Games Debut

Images: Inside the Games, Beijing 2022