A Complete Guide to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

And Germany ranks third in both editions of the Games. The country has 240 total Winter Olympic medals (92 gold, 88 silver, and 60 bronze) and 255 Paralympic medals (105 gold, 79 silver, and 71 bronze).

How many spectators will attend the 2022 Games?

Not dissimilar from the Summer Games, the Winter Games will have a very limited number of spectators.

Here’s what we know so far: The Beijing Organizing Committee hasn’t said exactly how many people will be allowed to attend the Games, but on January 17, it released a statement saying it won’t sell any more tickets “given the current grave and complicated situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Previous guidance from September 2021 had allowed people in mainland China who met “COVID-19 countermeasures” to purchase tickets.

Instead of additional people in the stands, there will be an “adapted” program that will allow groups of invited spectators to be present on-site during the Games. (At the time of publication, additional details regarding exactly what the adapted program would look like were not available.) “The organizers expect that these spectators will strictly abide by the COVID-19 countermeasures before, during, and after each event as pre-conditions for the safe and sound delivery of the Games,” the statement read.

What are the COVID-19 protocols for the Winter Olympics?

No big surprise here: The 2022 Olympics and Paralympics will be different from previous Winter Games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Playbook, all athletes will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least 14 days before leaving for China or they must quarantine for 21 days upon arrival in Beijing. Athletes will then follow certain protocols and take part in a “closed loop” system, which includes dedicated transport and no contact with the public, to cut the risk of transmission. Plus, like we mentioned above, spectators will be limited.

What’s going on with the diplomatic boycotts?

You may have heard that several countries—including the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, and most recently, Denmark and the Netherlands—have announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Games. What does that mean, exactly? Essentially, government officials will not attend the Games. Athletes from the boycotting countries, however, will still attend and compete in the Games.

In announcing the U.S.’s decision to boycott the 2022 Olympics in December, White House press secretary Jen Psaki cited “genocide and crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang, a northwestern region of China, The New York Times reported. Calls for a human rights–centered boycott were also issued following the news of Peng Shuai, a Chinese tennis star who accused a former top government official of sexual assault and then disappeared for several weeks in November 2021, per The New York Times.

Canada and Denmark also cited their concerns over human rights issues in China as the reason for boycotting. And Australia pointed to the abuses in Xinjiang and China’s criticism of Australia’s plans for new nuclear submarines as reasons why they won’t send government officials to the Games. The Netherlands, for its part, isn’t sending government officials to the Games because it believes China’s COVID-19 rules would make it challenging for Dutch diplomats to discuss their “grave concern” about human rights, Reuters reported. Japan also recently announced it would not send an official government delegation to the Games, though it didn’t call the decision a diplomatic boycott, The New York Times reported.

What are the upcoming Winter Olympics locations?

After the 2022 Beijing Games wrap, the next Winter Olympics and Paralympics will be hosted in Italy, in the cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, in 2026. The host of the 2030 Winter Games will be announced in 2023, Sports Illustrated reported.

The next Summer Olympics and Paralympics will take place in Paris in 2024, followed by the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, and the 2032 Summer Games in Brisbane, Australia.

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