Ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, read up here on everything you need to know in Wide World of Sports’ ultimate guide.
When will Winter Olympics competition start?
The Winter Games will get underway with the first two runs of the group A and B men’s singles luge, taking place from 10.30pm (AEDT) on Wednesday, February 2 at Yanqing National Sliding Centre.
Competition will begin two days before the opening ceremony.
When will Beijing Games competition conclude?
The last event of the Games, to be held on February 20 from 5.30pm (AEDT) at Zhangjiakou National Cross-country Skiing Centre, will see the two teams competing for gold in the women’s 30km mass square off.
Opening and closing Olympic ceremonies
The opening ceremony will take place on Friday, February 4 at the National Stadium, beginning at 11pm (AEDT).
The closing ceremony, to also be held at the National Stadium, will take place on Sunday, February 20, starting at 1pm (AEDT).
What events will be held at the Games?
Organisers are expecting about 2800 athletes from around 90 countries to compete, and 15 disciplines are on the schedule.
The disciplines include: alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, nordic combined, short-speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboarding and speed skating.
There’ll be 109 gold medals up for grabs after the addition of seven new events: women’s monobob, men’s and women’s big air and mixed team events in speed skating, ski jumping, aerials and snowboard cross.
Beijing Games mascot
The official mascot of the Games is a panda called Bing Dwen Dwen.
The panda wears a full-body ‘shell’ made out of ice, which resembles an astronaut suit.
Winter Games locations
There are three cluster sites for the Games – one in the city of Beijing and the two others in nearby mountains.
Yanqing is a northern suburban district about 80 kilometres from the city centre.
The Zhangjiakou zone in the neighbouring province of Hebei is about 220 kilometres from central Beijing.
Will there be fans at the Games?
A limited number of locals will be allowed to attend the Games, but foreign visitors are banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beijing Games fun facts
- This is the 24th edition of the Winter Olympics. The first edition was held in 1924 in the French city of Chamonix
- Beijing is the first city to host Summer and Winter Olympics, after it held the Summer Games of 2008
- Beijing was revealed as the host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics in 2015, edging out the Kazakhstani city of Almaty in a 44-40 vote
Aussie Olympic team
Australia has sent a team of 43 athletes – its third-biggest in history – to compete in 10 events across five sports.
The team comprises of 22 females and 21 males, including 19 debutants.
The flag-bearers for the opening and closing ceremonies are yet to be confirmed.
The oldest member of the team is 33-year-old Sami Kennedy-Sim and the youngest is 16-year-old Valentino Guseli.
Australia first competed in the Winter Olympics in 1936, in the German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria.
Aussies to keep an eye on
Scotty James
Perhaps the Australian set to attract the majority of eyeballs is Scotty James, who’ll renew his halfpipe battle with three-time Olympic champion Shaun White.
James last month sent the American an ominous warning in winning an X-Games gold medal in Aspen, Colorado.
James defeated two-time Olympic silver medallist Ayumu Hirano of Japan in in the X-Games.
The 27-year-old Melbournian was Australia’s flag-bearer at the 2018 Games and at that edition became the first Australian to win an Olympic medal in snowboarding, collecting bronze.
Matt Graham
Despite breaking his collarbone in December, Australian skiier Matt Graham looms as a serious gold-medal threat in the men’s moguls.
The 27-year-old, from Gosford on the central coast of NSW, clinched silver at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and claimed silver at the 2019 world championships.
He then finished the 2020-21 season ranked No.1 in the world.
Jarryd Hughes/Belle Brockhoff
Australians Jarryd Hughes and Belle Brockhoff loom as genuine gold-medal contenders in the mixed snowboard cross, having won the event at the 2021 world championships.
Hughes is a 26-year-old from the northern beaches of Sydney, and Brockhoff is a 29-year-old from Melbourne’s east.
“Been through a lot to get here,” Hughes wrote on Instagram ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
“Let’s make it count!”
The star duo must be rapt that mixed snowboard cross is among the seven events debuting at the Beijing Games.
Australia’s Winter Olympics record
Australia has won 15 medals in Winter Olympics history: five each of gold, silver and bronze.
1994 (Lillehammer, Norway): One bronze
1998 (Nagano, Japan): One bronze
2002 (Salt Lake City, USA): Two gold
2006 (Torino, Italy): One gold, one bronze
2010 (Vancouver, Canada): Two gold, one silver
2014 (Sochi, Russia): Two silver, one bronze
2018 (PyeongChang, South Korea): Two silver, one bronze