The authorities announced their choice today. The animal symbolising the Games will be dressed in ice to honour the Winter Games. A red lantern will represent the Paralympics. Things will start in Beijing.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – China today presented the mascots for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, respectively Bing Dwen, a big panda wearing ice, and Shuey Rhon, a red lantern.
According to the organising committee, the panda has “a heart of gold and a love of all things winter sports”.
In 2015 Beijing beat Almaty and won the right to host the sporting event. China’s communist government is spending US$ 1.5 billion in infrastructure, artificial snow, Olympic Village and sports facilities.
A high-speed train is also under construction to connect the capital to Zhangjiakou, a city in a mountainous region northwest of Beijing that will host several competitions.
When it hosted the 2008 Olympic Games, China joined the club of the great nations of the world.
Despite the many controversies associated with that event, including the slaughter of Tibetan Buddhist monks protesting against environmental destruction in their homeland, Chinese authorities decided this time to re-use some of the infrastructures built for that event, most notably the ‘Bird’s Nest, the capital’s iconic stadium.