When is it happening?
The opening ceremony is set to be staged on Friday, 4 February, from 11pm AEDT at Beijing’s National Stadium, and run until the closing ceremony at the same venue on Sunday, 20 February from 1pm AEDT.
In keeping with tradition, competition has already started with the curling and luge under way. Australia’s very first curling team, Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt, have been in action at the Ice Box, where they have lost their opening three matches, while Alexander Ferlazzo has completed several training runs.
Where is it happening?
The short answer is Beijing, which is the first city to host both a summer and winter Games following the 2008 summer Olympics. Those who remember the famous “Water Cube” which hosted the swimming in 2008 will this time be treated to the “Ice Cube” – the pool has been converted into a four-sheet curling rink.
The slightly longer answer is that there are three cluster sites: one in Beijing proper and two others in the nearby mountainous regions of Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. Yanqing is a northern suburban district about 80km from the city centre. The Zhangjiakou zone in the neighbouring province of Hebei is about 220km from central Beijing.
How can I follow from Australia?
The Guardian will be extensively live blogging each day of the Games, while the action will be broadcast by Channel 7 and streamed on 7 Plus. Curling is among the earliest sports to get under way each day, from 8:35am local time – 11:35am AEDT, as Beijing is three hours behind AEDT.
What are the events?
About 2,800 athletes from 90 countries are expected to compete across 15 disciplines: alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, nordic combined, short-speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboarding and speed skating.
A total 109 gold medals are there to be won following the addition of seven new events: women’s monobob (an individual version of bobsleigh), men’s and women’s big air and mixed team events in speed skating, ski jumping, aerials and snowboard cross.
Who are the strongest countries?
Norway, according to sports statistics organisation Gracenote. It predicts – unsurprisingly – that the Nordic nation will win 45 medals including 21 golds, which would surpass its record-breaking total of 39 medals won at Pyeongchang in 2018. Russia and Germany are slated to take home 30 medals apiece.
How will Australia perform?
Gracenote predicts Australia will win three gold medals and one bronze, and a 15th-place finish on its virtual medal table. This would be a solid improvement on past Games, the most recent a 23rd place at PyeongChang with two silver medals and one bronze.
Australia has won 15 medals across the last seven Games (five gold, five silver, five bronze) dating back to 1994. Before that the country had not won a single medal since 1936 when it first contested the Winter Olympics.
Who makes up the Australian team?
A contingent of 43 athletes, the nation’s third-largest in history and featuring the strongest female representation to date with 22 women and 21 men, who will compete in 10 of the 15 disciplines. Of those 43 there are 19 debutants. The oldest member of the team is 33-year-old Sami Kennedy-Sim and the youngest 16-year-old Valentino Guseli.
Scotty James is the big-ticket name in the halfpipe against American rival and three-time Olympic champion Shaun White. The 27-year-old was Australia’s flagbearer at the 2018 Games, at which he won snowboarding bronze.
Jarryd Hughes and Belle Brockhoff are 2021 mixed snowboard cross world champions and genuine contenders for gold in that event.
What about the boycott?
Australia is among the western countries whose officials will not head to Beijing as part of a diplomatic boycott amid global criticism over China’s human rights record. Australia, whose diplomatic relationship with China has deteriorated significantly, cited the wide-scale repression of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in its northwestern region of Xinjiang.
The Morrison government is following the lead of the US, Britain, Canada and Denmark, while Japan will not send officials but did not explicitly define the move as a diplomatic boycott. The New Zealand and Netherlands governments have also steered clear of calling their absence a boycott, saying they will not send government delegations because of China’s Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Those world leaders who will be in attendance include Russia president Vladimir Putin, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, among other Middle Eastern and central Asian countries.
Have you heard there’s fake snow?
Generally in recent years there is at least a bit depending on weather conditions, but this will be the first time almost 100% of the snow used will be artificial. Before you ask yes, this is down to climate change, which has caused shorter winter seasons, less snowfall and melting ice.
This was also a problem at the 2014 Games in Sochi, where snowboarders recall the halfpipe melting.
There are some challenges with this. Artificial snow is icier than its natural counterpart, which could compromise safety, and there are also concerns about environmental damage. More than 100 snow generators and 300 snow-cannons will work to to cover the slopes but Chinese organisers say the machines will use 20% less water.
They also insist the Games will be carbon neutral. That means venues powered by renewable energy, ice rinks using natural CO2 technology for cooling, instead of ozone-damaging hydrofluorocarbons.
There was, however, a surprise dump of real snow earlier in the week.
Will the Great Firewall be up?
Authorities have pledged unrestricted internet access for foreign athletes at the Olympics, a rare break in the so-called Great Firewall of China that blocks access to popular messaging apps, social media platforms, search engines and websites deemed a threat to national security. But technology experts have warned that using Chinese WiFi services to connect to apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube will leave visitors susceptible to surveillance.
Australia is among a number of NOCs who have advised athletes to use burner phones to safeguard their privacy and security against the Chinese government and to leave their personal electronic devices at home. The US, British, Canadian and Dutch Olympic associations have issued similar advice.
Human rights and athlete advocacy groups have also warned competitors could put themselves in danger if they speak out in support of the Uyghur Muslims and used the case of tennis player Peng Shuai as an example of the potential consequences of speaking out.
What’s the Covid-19 situation?
This is where surveillance and the pandemic may overlap. China is utilising technology as a primary means of controlling the spread of coronavirus, through contact tracing apps, drones and robots.
Robots will be used to transport equipment between venues, ensure social distancing and sanitise areas, while robot chefs will prepare and serve some of the food to athletes and delegates.
All visitors to the Winter Olympics will be subject to artificial intelligence, predictive policing, Big Data databases and extensive surveillance of social media platforms, which Human Rights Watch says constitutes an “Orwellian surveillance state”.
Also in place will be a “closed loop”, also known as a biosecurity bubble. All athletes, officials and media will be separated entirely from locals, staying in hotels inside the “loop” and required to be tested daily and sometimes twice daily.
Volunteers and Beijing residents working at the Games face three weeks of quarantine before returning to their homes.
Will there be crowds?
Despite the regulations, organisers are hoping for stadium capacities of at least 30%. Tickets will be distributed to targeted groups of people, though it is still unclear who those people will be. Those who do attend will be required to undertake strict Covid-19 prevention measures.
