It’s about that time of year again when the Winter Olympics roll around into season. Many Olympic Games fans wait these events out eagerly throughout the long wait time in between, and each event often has a lot more to stay tuned for or learn because of differing competitions, weather, added games, and more. So what do we have to know for this year’s Winter Olympic Games? Here’s some of what’s new with the Winter Olympics.
When and Where
This year’s games take place from February 4 through February 20, with curling starting off a bit early on February 2. Competitions will be broken up across three main sections of one host country for this year, depending on situation or weather needs. All games take place in China this year, with some in Beijing, some in Yanqing, and some in Zhangjiakou. This means there’s up to 100 miles of distance between the Winter Olympics sites!
New Events
Winter Olympics for 2022 include 15 games and 109 different medal events across those main sports. But this year also has seven events that have not been done in previous years. Some of these are Snowboard Cross, Aerials, Ski Jumping, and more. Some of the events are new because of their inclusion of mixed teams instead of separated genders, so the events already existed in type but not in mixed team form.
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Spectator and Travel Changes
Since the world has been battling an ongoing pandemic, the spectator and travel allowances are very changed and difficult for most. Some teams weren’t able to attend or had to adjust their attendance due to the pandemic or travel requirements, many probably had to quarantine upon arrival, and fans were not allowed to spectate the games this year. Only specific selected fans and spectators are allowed, and only citizens of China would be allowed to attend.
Mascots
This year’s mascots are Bing Dwen Dwen for the Olympic Games, who is a panda, and Shuey Rhon Rhon, which is a lantern child with a growing heart. Both have specific relations to important characteristics like strength, courage, friendship, and purity. They also include red colored elements which is important in itself and ties into the fact that the Olympic Games fall in the time of the Chinese New Year.
Streaming Viewership
Seeing as this year doesn’t allow many people to watch in person (and many of us don’t want to or can’t afford the travel anyways), there are options to watch via streaming or cable television as usual as well. Platforms featuring the Winter Olympics include Peacock, CNBC, USA, and NBC. Peacock is a streaming platform similar to Netflix, and the others are channel types on cable that also sometimes have their own stream options for viewers online.
There are always a lot of changes and interesting things going on when the Olympic Games come around, which is why we came here today to share some of what’s new with you all to help everyone reading be more knowledgeable and prepared for this year’s winter games. There are so many things to tune in for this year, so even newer fans to the Winter Olympics could find some reason to watch!