Olympic rings seen atop of an architecture in Shougang Park in Beijng, China, where freeski and snowboard big air events will be held during Beijing 2022. /CFP
The second edition of the playbook for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in China was released on Monday by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (BOCOG), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The playbook aims to help athletes, officials, and other attendees finalize their travel plans, including arrival and departure times and their schedules during their stay in China. The latest playbook mentions more detailed measures to be safe from COVID-19 than the first edition issued in late October.
This updated edition provides information including vaccination, customs regulations, tickets, COVID-19 tests before boarding the flight, closed-loop management, accommodation, transportation, dining services, nucleic acid testing during the Games, close contact tracing, and others, covering all phases of the Games.
Christophe Dubi, IOC executive director for the Olympic Games, said that the IOC, IPC, and BOCOG jointly worked with top global public health and sports experts to provide precise and necessary protocols in the latest edition.
According to Dubi, Beijing 2022 will provide a safe and unique environment that enables athletes to focus on their competitions, which is essential for the Games. Accordingly, global audiences will also be able to enjoy athletes' best performances.
Han Zirong, vice president and secretary-general of the Beijing Organizing Committee, said that the playbook was based on the latest scientific studies, inputs from experts, and experience of international competitions. In addition, the latest edition reflects feedbacks from the organizers received from press conferences since October 25, when the first edition was published, enhancing transparency of the protocols for all participants.
According to Han, further details will be provided in the coming weeks. With the constantly changing situation of COVID-19 globally, additional measures to ensure the safety of Games participants and local residents could be implemented if necessary. More conferences will be organized to update the COVID-19 protocols.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will take place in three competition zones, Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, between February 4 and 20, followed by the Winter Paralympics from March 4 to 13.