Closure
Marked by the diplomatic boycott of the Chinese regime, they conclude with another lavish ceremony and the success of their bubble by accounting for only 463 cases of covid-19
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics ended this Sunday as they began: with a lavish ceremony in ‘El Nido’ at zero degrees and isolated from the rest of China in an airtight bubble to prevent the coronavirus. There have been 16 days of extreme competitions in the snow or on the ice that have left emotions on the surface and half a hundred Olympic and world records, especially in speed skating. Beyond the medals, triumphs and disappointments, the Games have been marked by the diplomatic boycott of the United States and other Western democracies against the authoritarian Chinese regime and by the success of its anti-covid bubble.
These Winter Olympics, the second of the pandemic after those in Tokyo last summer, have been much more closed than those in Japan, where its participants could move freely even before the mandatory two weeks of isolation.
In addition to the mandatory test as soon as you land at the Beijing airport, more than 72,000 PCR tests have been carried out every day on all the people who lived in the bubble, including athletes, members of national committees, journalists and foreign and Chinese workers. Since January 23, 463 positives for the coronavirus have been detected, of which around 260 have been athletes and the rest employees of the Games. All of them of a minor nature, were isolated between the protests of some athletes, such as the Belgian Kim Meylemans.
The low level of infections has led the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, to say that the Beijing bubble has been “the safest place in the world”. In Tokyo 2020, more than 800 cases were recorded within the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but they coincided with the largest outbreak of the coronavirus in Japan since the outbreak of the pandemic. As in Japan, these Games also did not have an audience, only with select groups of guests that were more numerous than in Tokyo.
With obvious propaganda purposes, Beijing wanted to be the only city in the world to host the Summer Olympics, which it held in 2008, and the Winter Olympics in 2022. For the second time in just 14 years, its National Stadium ‘El Nido’ hosted its opening and closing ceremonies, also directed by renowned filmmaker Zhang Yimou.
To the rhythm of the ‘Hymn of Joy’
As in the opening, Beijing 2022 closed with the motif of snowflakes, this time turned into lanterns to celebrate the second fortnight of the lunar new year, which began on February 1. With a much smaller parade of athletes than at the opening, the flags of the national committees were accompanied by 12 sleds with children that symbolized the animals of the Chinese horoscope. Waving it vigorously, the Spanish was carried by the skater Adrián Díaz, who has obtained an Olympic diploma with Olivia Smart in ice dancing.
To the rhythm of the ‘Hymn of joy’, the athletes marched on the stadium’s track, turned into a lake of ice thanks to its 11,600 square meters of LED lights. Above their heads, in the center of the ‘Nest’, hung the small Olympic flame in the giant and luminous snowflake formed by the posters with the names of the 91 countries and regions that have participated in these Games.
As is logical, the most cheered delegation was the Chinese, which has achieved tremendous sporting success by finishing third in the medal table. China, which is already challenging the US for hegemony in the Summer Olympics, is also confirmed as a superpower in winter sports. Thanks to its multi-million dollar investment not only in infrastructure, but also in athlete training, it has broken its record for medals in ice and snow competitions: 15 in total. In third position and ahead of the USA, the Chinese team has achieved nine gold, four silver and two bronze. Since the eleven metals of Vancouver 2010, five of them gold, he had not been so successful, since his record at the Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 Games was nine medals in each of them. As usual in the Winter Games, Norway has triumphed again with 37 medals (16 gold), followed by Germany (27 and twelve gold) and, in fourth place, USA (25 and eight gold) .
Like the inauguration, it was also a popular gala where no famous stars or singers performed, just ordinary people to the taste of President Xi Jinping, accompanied by Thomas Bach in the box.
With musical performances and videos that recalled the most exciting sporting moments of these Games, the curtain was lowered on Beijing 2022, paying a well-deserved tribute to the volunteers. These thousands of university students, who have left their families for several weeks to help the participants in the Games, will have to quarantine for at least 14 days to get out of the bubble.
“A new age”
After lowering the Olympic flag to the sound of its anthem, intoned again by the angelic voices of the Hebei Mountain Children’s Choir that performed at the opening, the mayor of Beijing, Chen Jining, and Thomas Bach passed the baton to the next host of the Winter Olympic Games: Milan-Cortina d´Ampezzo 2026. His presentation, which began with a beautiful and modern minimalist ballet, turned the stadium into a dance floor with the flickering brightness of its LED lights and the palms of attendees plastic.
“The Beijing Olympic Games open a new era for winter sports”, welcomed the president of the Organizing Committee, Cai Qi, while Bach praised that “athletes have embraced each other even though your countries are divided by conflicts” . Referring to the tense international situation, he appealed to “political leaders to be inspired by your example of peace and solidarity” and called for “unity to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.”
In addition to praising the “excellence and safety” of the organization, the IOC president hailed the success of his national team and welcomed China as “a country of winter sports.” After Bach closed these Winter Games, the flame that lit on the flickering snowflake of ‘El Nido’ descended and went out while the illuminated Olympic rings rose and the sky exploded in fireworks. The Olympic fire will burn again in four years in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo… hopefully without coronavirus.