China: Beijing under cover before the Winter Olympics

The last barriers were put up at the start of sunny, but freezing, January: the “sanitary bubble” that encompasses the Olympic facilities, north of Beijing’s fourth ring road, is now completely waterproof. Two worlds must never intersect: on the one hand, the some 2,900 athletes from all over the world and, on the other, the 23 million inhabitants of the capital. A few curious people try to see the delegation buses passing a heavy gate before disappearing under a white tent. It is in this enclosed area that the athletes will eat their meals, sleep in hotels, train and participate in the Winter Games events (from February 4 to 20).

“Within this” closed loop “, we are going to put in place very strict health measures, including daily screening tests for Covid”, specifies Zhao Weidong, communications manager of the organizing committee. All foreign participants must be vaccinated, the others being subject to quarantine. Same protocol for the foreign press, the delegations and the representatives of the various Olympic committees. The code of good conduct is clear: no contact will be possible with the rest of the country, including for journalists (although the latter could leave the health bubble at the Tokyo Olympics).

The party spoiled by the health context

As for the facilities, several dating from the 2008 summer games have been converted for winter sports. The “Water Cube”, a former Olympic swimming pool, has been transformed into a giant ice rink, and the “Bird’s Nest”, the large stadium in Beijing, will host the opening ceremony. Further north, linked to Beijing by a TGV line – participants will be grouped together in separate wagons – the ski slopes are already open. They are supplied with artificial snow by around 300 snow cannons which will swallow up the equivalent of 185 million liters of water during the events, (ie the monthly consumption of 50,000 people).

Limited offer. 2 months for 1 € without commitment

“We can say that we have completed all the preparations. Beijing is ready,” said the organizers. This does not prevent the authorities from observing with the greatest concern the increase in the number of Covid-19 contaminations, which is around 200 cases per day at the start of the year – a figure that is certainly very low compared to the rest of the world. , but sufficient to raise fears of an outbreak. Faced with this risk, the capital is closing itself down as it has done on several occasions over the past two years: no longer any group tourist travel is possible from the provinces, mandatory screening to enter Beijing and above all a ban on coming to Beijing. the capital if you have passed through a contaminated area.

This sanitary context spoils the party. “I still find it hard to imagine that it is indeed the Olympics, reacts a resident of the neighborhood, near the Bird’s Nest. I was already living here in 2008 during the Summer Games and it was quite another. atmosphere. We wanted to give a good image of China, a welcoming, open, modern China; but here, it just looks like a sports competition like any other. ”

Magic works much less

Near the Olympic stadium, a few courageous young people face the cold to try their hand at hockey on a frozen canal. “These are pretty new sports for us,” explains a teenager, “but it’s fun, we can’t wait to be able to follow the competitions.” It will certainly be on television. The ticket office was still not open on January 6. And nobody knows if the public – exclusively Chinese – will be present in the stands, as promised by the organizers.

L’application L’Express

To follow the analysis and decryption wherever you are

Download the app

China is the latest country to apply the “zero Covid” strategy, which imposes drastic restrictions on variants. In the city of Xi’an, where 13 million inhabitants have been completely confined to their homes since the end of December, discontent is rumbling on social networks in the face of difficulties in obtaining food. The 2008 Games allowed China to assert itself on the international stage as a great power, with the slogan “One world, one dream”. Fourteen years later, when several countries, including the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, announced a diplomatic boycott to protest against the repression of the Uighurs in Xinjiang, the magic is likely to operate much less. .