Beijing 2022 doubts grow with Covid-19 spike in Hebei
- Rise in cases in Hebei province has Chinese capital on high alert despite country putting shutters on international sport
- Bubble format of Chinese Super League and Chinese Basketball Association not an option for three-city Winter Olympics
No one wants to hear it but it’s time someone said it: the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games could be in trouble.
Not because of the much publicised focus on athletes protesting human rights abuses at the Games but because they might not be able to go ahead as planned.
Coming less than six months after the closing ceremony of 2020’s postponed Tokyo Olympics in the summer, Beijing 2022 is set to start on February 4 next year.
If Tokyo 2020 is in doubt – and make no mistake, it is at this stage as the Japanese capital is in a state of emergency – then Beijing 2022 has to be too.
That was true when China appeared to have maintained control of the Covid-19 crisis after being the first to deal with the spread of the coronavirus.
Hebei’s capital Shijiazhuang, where most of the cases have been recorded, is under lockdown as the provincial government and Beijing monitor the situation.
This is the largest outbreak in China this winter, with concerns growing because of the upcoming national holiday for Lunar New Year, a time of mass travel in the country.
It’s all happened rather quickly. Indeed, it is only a few weeks since China was being praised for its handling of the crisis, with Xinhua claiming that the pandemic was “under control in China” in a December 24 article on Beijing 2022.
“After being forced to stop temporarily by the Covid-19 outbreak, Beijing 2022 venue construction projects were among the first to resume after the pandemic was brought under control in China, with strict epidemic prevention and control measures in place,” they wrote.
The likelihood now is that there will be further disruptions to preparations as we have had another lesson in how fragile the fight against the virus can be.
Crucially Hebei is where the rest of the Winter Olympics will take place. Beijing might get the name but several events are hosted well outside the city.
Chinese capital on alert as coronavirus spreads next door in Hebei
The capital and the site of the snowboarding, biathlon and ski jumping are 200km apart with Yanqing, site of the luge, bobsleigh and alpine skiing, in between.
Chinese authorities have shown that they are willing to do whatever is needed to control the virus, with Wuhan locked down for months. They were similarly unwavering when it came to calling off sport as part of their national coronavirus fight.
All sport was cancelled for several months with elite domestic leagues initially returning in bubbles and behind closed doors. They are again looking to a bubble for the upcoming season of the Chinese Super League as used in the ongoing Chinese Basketball Association campaign.
00:53
Japan declares Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo as cases surge in capital and nearby areas
International sporting events, such as the 2020 Formula 1 Shanghai Grand Prix, were ditched completely as the country tightened its borders. This year was to follow a similar format, with Shanghai reportedly left off the 2021 F1 calendar altogether, among other examples.
China’s past success in its fight against Covid-19 had come, in part, at the expense of high-profile international sporting events, but there is nothing more high-profile or international than an Olympics.
No matter how willing authorities are, Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou cannot be a bubble, nor can we foresee where the battle with the virus will go next.
Tokyo 2020: Olympics’ Covid-19 mask is slipping
Beijing 2022 has done a fine job in its preparations so far but it could all prove to be out of their hands, depending on how things progress.
“Despite uncertainties brought about by Covid-19, we are confident and capable of hosting a successful Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” BOCOG executive vice-president Zhang Jiandong was quoted as saying on Christmas Eve.
Understandably, Zhang might feel less confident now, barely a week into the new year.
There is no shame in this. History has already been made with Tokyo 2020 becoming “Tokyo 2021” despite their insistence on keeping the name.
The fact is that we are barely a year into the pandemic and many people are only now starting to take it seriously, and that includes national governments such as the UK’s, while others are still pleading conspiracy.
Our only reasonable comparison, the so-called Spanish Flu of a century ago, offers a lesson from history.
Prioritise athletes for vaccine so Tokyo Games can go ahead, says Pound
That H1N1 outbreak, the same strain as the swine flu of 2009, was first recorded in 1918 and lasted until late 1920, with its more virulent second wave peaking in October 1918, the pandemic’s deadliest month.
We do not know how long the current pandemic will last and all international sporting events – Tokyo 2020, Euro 2020 and yes Beijing 2022 – would be well advised to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
Just like the rest of us.
