Concerns and controversies at the 2022 Winter Olympics

There have been concerns and controversies about the 2022 Winter Olympics which will be hosted in Beijing, China.

Organizing concerns and controversies

Cost and climate

Several cities withdrew their applications during the bidding process, citing the high costs or the lack of local support to host the 2022 games, leaving Almaty in Kazakhstan and Beijing as the only candidate cities by 1 October 2014.^[1]

The decision to bid for the Olympics was controversial in China (and outside) because Beijing itself, and especially some of the proposed outdoor venues, does not have reliable snowfall in winter for snow sports. Concerns have been raised that snow may need to be transported to the venues at great cost and with uncertain environmental consequences.^[2][3]

Promotional song

Some commentators alleged that one of the early promotional songs for the 2022 Winter Olympics, called "The Snow and Ice Dance," has suspicious similarities with "Let It Go." A Chinese media outlet cited technical analysis of the two songs: Both songs employ a piano as the major instrument, have similar prelude chords and an eight-beat introduction, and they run at almost exactly the same tempo.^[4][5]

Environmental and Health issues

Impact on Songshan National Nature Reserve

The environmental impact of hosting the games near Beijing has been questioned. Some of the proposed venues will be adjacent to the Songshan National Nature Reserve and part of the same mountain system, and the environmental impact on the nature reserve of construction, and artificially covering parts of the mountain with snow, is uncertain.^[6][7][8]

Air pollution

Human rights and censorship

Domestic Chinese criticism and debate on the potential environmental impacts caused by the game are censored by the Chinese government on the press and internet.^[9][10][11]

See also

• Concerns and controversies at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Concerns and controversies at the 2010 Winter Olympics
• Concerns and controversies at the 2012 Summer Olympics
• Concerns and controversies at the 2014 Winter Olympics

References

Citations

1. Abend, Lisa (3 October 2014). "Why Nobody Wants to Host the 2022 Winter Olympics". time.com. Time (magazine). Retrieved 19 September 2015.
2. Matt Schiavenza, "A Winter Olympics in a City Without Snow", The Atlantic, 31 July 2015
3. Tom Phillips, "Beijing promises to overcome lack of snow for 2022 Winter Olympics", The Guardian, 31 July 2015
4. Didi Kirsten Tatlow (3 August 2015). "To Some, Beijing Olympics Song Is Suspiciously Similar to Ballad From Disney’s ‘Frozen’". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
5. Jiang, Steven (4 August 2015). "Is China's 2022 Winter Olympics song too much like 'Frozen's' 'Let It Go'?". CNN. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
6. "Scientists Question Environmental Impact of China's Winter Olympics", New York Times, 9 April 2015
7. "Winter Olympic Games venues in China 'pose threat to Beijing nature reserve'", South China Morning Post, 4 August 2015
8. "Chinese biologists lead outcry over Winter Olympics ski site". Nature. 11 August 2015.
9. "Beijing named as host for 2022 Winter Olympics". Retrieved 5 August 2015.
10. "Beijing Winter Olympics 2022's Environmental Impact Includes Nature Reserve Damage, Critics Say". International Business Times. 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
11. "Chinese biologists lead outcry over Winter Olympics ski site". 自然(期刊) Nature. 2015-08-11. doi:10.1038/nature.2015.18174. Retrieved 2015-08-12.