Enthusiasm for 2022 Olympics Appears Lacking in Beijing

(ATR) A heavily-promoted figure skating exhibition takes place at Beijing’s MasterCard Center on Friday as questions linger regarding public interest and enthusiasm in the Chinese capital towards hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics.

In recent days, the negative effects and future worries related to the three-week crash of the Chinese stock market – which has prompted dramatic government intervention – has overshadowed China’s bid for the Games. It seems probable that the volatility of the Chinese market and potential ripple effects will continue well beyond the IOC selection of a 2022 host city come July 31.

One European journalist currently studying in Beijing questions the interest and enthusiasm in the bid among Beijingers.

"There’s just too much happening here all the time, it’s hard to just focus on one thing," said the journalist. "I can imagine the authorities are not fans of that anyway, but it’s such a huge country and there’s so much going on that it’s hard to get everyone motivated about the same thing."

A Reuters article published this week ponders whether the city of nearly 22 million is ready and willing to actively support the Winter Games should Beijing win the right to host.

The story advises that Olympic related news conferences in Beijing have been sparsely attended, there is minimal social media buzz being generated and lack of enthusiasm on the street is evident.

Unlike in the weeks leading up to the 2001 decision in which Beijing was awarded the 2008 Summer Games, it appears that the Chinese government is setting the bar low in terms of potential celebrations should Beijing win the bid over its lone opponent, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Asked if public celebrations or watching the decision on big screens around the Chinese capital was being considered, bid spokeswoman Wang Hui said, "I’ve really not thought about this. I’m in charge of news and publicity, so it should be something I’ve thought of. But I’ve not."

Beijing 2022 public relations staffers have been tirelessly promoting the bid and its athlete-centric Games concept to the media, including offering a series of features profiling Chinese athlete ambassadors supporting the bid.

Chinese speed skater Zhang Hong, a 1000-meters gold medalist in Sochi 2014, was recently highlighted. A press release said that Zhang is "immensely proud" and "most enthusiastic" to help create an athlete-centered Games.

However, when Around the Rings requested an interview with the speed skater to discuss her contribution and cooperation with the bid, it was advised she was unavailable due to being busy with training and involvement with the bid committee.

China’s Lofty Winter Sports Ambitions

Chinese president Xi Jinping professes that the bid will help to inspire 300 million citizens to participate in skiing and winter sports in the years ahead.

It seems an unrealistic expectation as even the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing – obviously, a much larger event in terms of number of sports, participating athletes, and viewers – has had minimal impact on public participation among Chinese citizens.

"As for skiing, I haven’t met any Chinese who ski," said the journalist who has been studying in Beijing. "It’s probably because it’s new and it’s also expensive."

Ice hockey is one winter sport that seems to be experiencing an increase in popularity. This trend is evidenced by the total of 97 teams who registered with the Beijing Ice Hockey Association’s 2014-2015 Youth Hockey League.

Last month, 18-year-old Andong Song became the first Chinese born hockey player selected in the National Hockey League draft, taken by the New York Islanders with the 172nd pick.

The government says that more than 90 percent of the population supports the Winter Games. However, contrary opinions have been expressed on Chinese social media sites.

According to the Reuters story, one user on the popular Chinese social media website Weibo wrote of the bid: "I strongly oppose this. It will all be man-made snow. It won’t be environmentally friendly, and it is a waste of our taxpayers’ money."

Beijing 2022’s Facebook page has a meager 511 likes compared to 2,756 for Almaty 2022. On Twitter, Beijing has 882 followers as opposed to 1,428 for its Kazakh opponent.

Both websites are blocked on the mainland, begging the question of whether Beijing will, or can, unblock the Internet for the Games, as has been promised.

Popularity of Winter Sports in China

In lieu of China’s consistent track record at the Summer Games, the nation is far from being a winter sports power, winning only nine medals at the 2014 Sochi Games and ranking 12th overall.

At February’s FIS Alpine Ski World Championships held in the U.S., the best Chinese finisher was Qin Xiyue, who ended 66th in the ladies’ slalom.

Whether or not Beijingers will passionately support or show interest in the country'srelatively unknown winter sports athletes along the road to the 2022 remains a legitimate question.

Attendance was abysmal when Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium played host to the season opening FIS freestyle skiing aerials World Cup last December.

It seemed like an ideal promotion for Beijing 2022 organizers to entertain burgeoning winter sports fans. Despite dominant performances by Chinese aerialists, the event’s general lack of interest was disconcerting.

Perhaps a few thousand spectators at best attended the international competition held in a stadium with a seating capacity of 80,000.

Should Beijing come away on top in its quest to host the 2022 Winter Games and considering its lack of experience presenting international snow sports, will urbanites truly embrace all that a Winter Games has to offer?

The IOC will select the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur on July 31.

Written by Brian Pinelli

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