China reinvents Olympic medal ceremony, adding new ‘cultural exhibitions’ inside an igloo-shaped Beijing Medals Plaza
- The Beijing Medals Plaza will serve the main venue for handing Olympic and Paralympic victory medals
- Unlike Summer Olympic ceremonies that take place directly after competition, Beijing is splitting the medal procession into two parts
Beijing will be doing things a little differently when it comes to handing out medals during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Unlike regular Olympic ceremonies, which take place inside the venue directly after a competition, organisers of the Beijing Games will split the medal ceremony into two parts.
First is a “souvenir ceremony” to be held inside the competition venue, this will be followed by a more traditional ceremony in the Medals Plaza. Wei Xiaomei, media manager at the Medals Plaza, told Xinhua that “cultural exhibitions” will also take place before and after the medal ceremony, but exactly what those entail remains unknown.
Wei said the aim of the Beijing Medals Plaza is to act as a “cultural feature” that will distinguish the Winter Games from the Summer Games. The temporary venue is located between the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) and the National Aquatics Centre (Ice Cube).
The design main stage at the Beijing Medals Plaza is centred on “embracing diversity” and has been built in-line with the Games’ overall theme of environmental sustainability. The podium on which the medals will be presented are made of recyclable materials.
Qin Zheng, director of live performances for the medal presentation stage, said the igloo-type design would be a core visual element of the stage design.
The Beijing Medals Plaza will be open for 14 days from February 6 to 19, and host victory ceremonies for 32 events throughout the Beijing Competition Zone.