"After over six years of preparation, the stage of Beijing Winter Olympics is all set and the curtain is about to open. Beijing is ready, China is ready," declared Yan Jiarong, a spokesperson of the Organizing Committee for Beijing 2022. 

In an interview with CGTN, she said that a safe and professional operation is ready for international athletes. 

All the facilities and equipment have been installed, and three Winter Olympic Villages have officially opened, with many athletes expressing their excitement and appreciation via social media after their arrivals.

"They feel safe and comfortable in the Winter Olympic Villages and they have now started their official training," Yan said. "They speak highly of venue facilities and tracks. We very much look forward to their performance on the field."  

She acknowledged that hosting the Olympic Games during COVID-19 is challenging.

"A safe environment for athletes and other stakeholders to compete and work amid a pandemic requires careful planning in all aspects: arrival and departure, transportation, accommodation, and medical care," Yan pointed out.

"We classified personnel and designed different routes to reduce the risk of virus transmission. At the same time, we separated Olympic personnel from the local community to ensure the safety of the host city and its population. We would never succeed in hosting the Olympic Games without safety."  

The Beijing Winter Olympics is the first Winter Olympics to be held under the amended Olympic motto to which "together" has been added.  

"The Olympic vision and concept of peace and solidarity are consistent with China's goals of a shared future for all mankind. I believe that's why China hosted the Olympic Games in 2008, the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014, and the 2022 Winter Olympic Games now," Yan said.

Concerning the Beijing Winter Olympics slogan "Together for a shared Future," Yan said: "That's the Chinese understanding of Olympic spirit, which is: faster, higher, stronger, and together, with particular emphasis on togetherness under the current world situation.”

Yan believes at a time when the pandemic is still raging, the Winter Olympics is an extraordinary and joyful global event. It's also an important opportunity to show the resilience, unity, and cooperation of human beings.

Yan expressed her willingness to witness the essence and the beauty of sport in the coming days – its passion, struggle, tears, and laughter. It will, she contended, be a reunion of human beings who respect each other, understand each other, unite, and cooperate and compete fairly.