Beijing Winter Olympics to mix venue re-use and extravagant spending

Beijing’s hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics will mix the re-use of venues from the 2008 Olympics – including the Beijing National Stadium and the Water Cube – with extravagant spending to build ski resort infrastructure at a location close to the Gobi Desert.

With Beijing set to be the first city to organise both Summer and Winter Olympics, its re-use of many venues from 2008 has seen its proposed budget for investment in Olympic villages, sports venues and other infrastructure total less than US$4 billion – a significantly smaller sum than for many recent Olympic Games.

However, as the major skiing events for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games are planned to take place in Zhangjiakou, a city that lies between Beijing and Inner Mongolia, right on the edge of the Gobi Desert, significant amounts are set to be spent on not just Olympic infrastructure but for an eventual ski resort.

While recording low winter temperatures, Zhangjiakou is one of the least snowiest spots in Asia.

According to The Economist, China will spend US$90 million on ‘water-diversion schemes’ to import enough water to the region for artificial snow creation – part of a massive US$62 billion in overall expenditure that is seeing water diverted from the country’s south to the north.

With abundant water and cold temperatures, Chinese authorities plan that Zhangjiakou will become a new winter tourism destination.

According to the bid documents, Chinese organisers plan to offset the proposed operational budget by revenue from ticket sales, marketing sponsorships and other income.

The IOC will also inject around US$880 million to support the staging of the Games.

Beijing’s successful bid now means that Asia becomes the first continent other than Europe to host three consecutive Olympic Games; Pyeongchang 2018 (winter), Tokyo 2020 (summer), Beijing 2022 (winter).

Selection of Beijing as an Olympic venue was the first hosting decision made under the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Agenda 2020 - a reform package that significantly changed the host city selection process. 

Lower image shows the Beijing Water Cube.

1st August 2015 - BEIJING CHOSEN TO HOST 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

6th November 2013 - BEIJING AND ZHANGJIAKOU LAUNCH JOINT BID TO HOST THE 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

23rd August 2012 - STARWOOD UNVEILS FIRST DUAL-BRANDED SKI RESORT COMPLEX IN CHINA