[Correspondent Diary] Europe, Participation in the Beijing Winter Olympics(?)

Europe, a Winter Sports Powerhouse, Faces 'Worst' COVID-19 Situation... Uncertain End Within the Year
China Launches Campaign to Promote 2022 Winter Olympics

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China has started promoting the 'Beijing Winter Olympics,' which is just one year away. The Beijing Winter Olympics are scheduled to be held from February 4 to 20, 2022.

Chinese state-run media have focused on reporting that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Capital Indoor Stadium located in Haidian District, Beijing, as well as the National Alpine Ski Center and National Bobsleigh Center in Yanqing District to inspect the venues and encourage the athletes.

The People's Daily filled the entire front page of its January 21 issue with photos of President Xi's inspection of the Winter Olympic venues. On the 22nd, it published an article titled "The Beijing Winter Olympics Have Entered the Countdown" on the front page.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Xinhua News Agency also reported that this was President Xi's fourth inspection of the Winter Olympics venues since 2017, showing confidence in hosting the Olympics amid the significant challenges posed by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Chinese media such as China Central Television (CCTV) extensively covered President Xi's inspection of the Winter Olympic venues.

President Xi's inspection coincidentally took place shortly after news emerged that the Tokyo Summer Olympics in Japan faced uncertainty regarding their hosting. The Tokyo Olympics had been postponed by one year due to COVID-19. The COVID-19 situation in Japan remains precarious. As of the 23rd, Japan has recorded 362,445 cumulative COVID-19 cases and 5,077 deaths. There are even calls within Japan to cancel the Olympics. President Xi's inspection of the Winter Olympic venues is interpreted as a move to highlight the difference from Japan.

However, China’s hosting of the Olympics is equally uncertain. The reality is that COVID-19 infection rates worldwide, including in Europe, are not easing. Moreover, the UK variant of the virus has been detected across Europe, making it uncertain whether COVID-19 will be eradicated in Europe before the Beijing Winter Olympics.

To make matters worse, there are disruptions in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and vaccination delays are increasingly likely. British company AstraZeneca notified the European Union (EU) Commission that initial supplies may be disrupted, causing alarm across European countries.

China aims to successfully host the Winter Olympics following the success of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, thereby cementing its image as a sports powerhouse worldwide. However, the reality is that this goal may need to be postponed temporarily.

Europe is a powerhouse in winter sports. At the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, among the top 20 medal-winning countries, 15 were European countries, excluding the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and China. A Winter Olympics without European countries and other winter sports powerhouses like the United States and Canada would be meaningless.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.