There are expected to be 109 medal events with seven new events added, including men’s and women’s big-air freestyle, women’s monobob (bobsled), mixed team competitions in freestyle skiing aerials, ski jumping and snowboard cross as well as mixed relay in short-track speedskating.
Because Beijing averages high temperatures of approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit in February, athletes will most likely be competing on man-made snow.
Olympic officials plan to reuse some venues from 2008 including the National Stadium, National Aquatics Center which will host curling, National Indoor Stadium and Wukesong Arena for hockey as well as Capital Indoor Stadium which will host figure skating and short-track speedskating.
Venues will be located in Beijing, Yanqing — which is approximately 60 miles northwest of the host city — and Zhangjiakou — which is approximately 120 miles northwest of the host city.
In addition, the COVID pandemic has increased calls for a postponement.
Earlier this month, Christophe Dubi, executive director of the IOC, said spectators may be once again barred from attending Olympic events in Beijing, similar to the Tokyo Olympics.
“Let’s see how the pandemic evolves around the globe and especially in China, and then let’s look at the consequence of participation for spectators,” Dubi toldBloomberg. “We have heard a number of the athletes say, ‘What matters is that we can compete, and we’ve gotten used to participating even without spectators.’ But if you have the choice, you would prefer to have spectators.”
source: people.com
