IOC delegation visits Beijing for 2022 Olympics preparation

An International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegation visited Beijing on Tuesday to conduct a two-day Orientation Seminar with the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games organisers.

This is the first IOC meeting with the 2022 team, since Beijing won the right to host the Olympic Winter Games three months ago, reports Xinhua.

The 12-member delegation, led by IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi, also includes the International Paralympic Committee (IPC)'s CEO Xavier Gonzalez.

The IOC group is scheduled to meet their Chinese counterparts over the course of the seminar, which draw the participation of Liu Peng, the minister of China's General Administration of Sport, Wang Anshun, the mayor of Beijing, and Zhang Qingwei, the governor of Hebei Province.

About 300 representatives from the General Administration of Sport, the Chinese Olympic Committee, China's winter sports associations, the Beijing Municipal Government and the Hebei Provincial Government attended the seminar.

The two sides plan to look at the preparatory work that Beijing 2022 has carried out since its election at the 128th IOC session in Kuala Lumpur on July 31. According to the host city contract, Beijing has to establish the 2022 Olympic Winter Games Organising Committee by next month.

During the seminar, the IOC and IPC participants will converse with the organisers on a number of topics including the opportunities for Beijing for hosting the Games, the key Games deliverables, and some important areas of the Games management.

The Chinese side will also speak about the 2022 Olympic Winter Games' philosophy and vision, its positive effect on the regional economy in northern China, and its role in accelerating the development of winter sports across the nation.

According to the Communications Department of Beijing 2022, the IOC delegation's visit will deepen Beijing's understanding of how to organise a successful 2022 Olympic Winter Games, and lay good foundations for the Organising Committee's work over the next seven years.

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games will be held in three competition zones, namely Beijing, Beijing's Yanqing County and Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province. The zones will be connected by high-speed railways allowing various clients to shuttle between the three destinations easily.