Sustainability at the heart of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

Beijing 2022 is set to be the most environmentally friendly Winter Olympic Games yet.

The city is adapting six venues that hosted the 2008 Olympic Games to minimise the cost of construction.

Gui Lin, Member of the Committee's Department of Planning, Construction and Sustainability, said: "Reusing the 2008 legacy venues really helps Beijing 2022 stay ahead, while verifying Beijing's promise to host the Winter Olympics in a sustainable way.”

She went on to say: "For example, the opening and closing ceremonies will be staged in the Beijing National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest. The Beijing National Aquatics Center, or the Water Cube, will be transformed into rinks for curling competitions.”

The six new competition venues will be built using renewable technologies with energy saving and environmentally-friendly materials.

In addition, the electricity for lighting, venue operations and transportation will come from solar and wind power.

The venues will be distributed in three zones which will maximise opportunities for post-Games use, fostering the development of winter sports in and around Beijing.

China has also launched a campaign to encourage 300 million of its people to take up winter sports by the time the games are held in 2022.

The three zones will be connected by a high-speed railway, reducing travel time between Beijing and Zhangjiakou from a three-hour car ride to a 50 minute journey and limiting traffic congestion.

Beijing 2022 hopes to create a legacy of sustainability through its newly built venues, upgraded transport infrastructure, sports and tourism development whilst promoting healthy lifestyles and raising environmental awareness.  

Hear more on this topic at Sustainable Innovation in Sport – a two day meeting bringing together stakeholders and influencers who are engendering positive environmental impacts through sport, on the 22-23 February 2017.  For more information and to register, visit the website by clicking here.