IOC pleased with Beijing's preparations for 2022 Winter Games

 International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission officials spoke highly of Beijing's preparations and strong marketing program for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games here on Tuesday.

The IOC Coordination Commission, headed by Alexander Zhukov, held talks with the Beijing 2022 organizing committee in their second project review, one day after Beijing 2022's marketing program was officially launched.

"This is a very strong marketing plan, which is much better than what it used to be during the bidding process. There is a very good vision of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games," Zhukov told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

"The organizing committee have a very good relationship with the IOC and the IOC experts, engaging a very strong team for sport experts from different countries.

"In addition, the organizing committee use the experience of other Olympics as they participated in all the events and connected with the organizing committee for PyeongChang 2018 and Tokyo 2020."

The marketing program comprises three major parts, namely sponsorship program, licensing program and ticketing program. Zhukov said as far as he knew, "this could be very successful marketing program not just for Chinese companies but also for worldwide companies."

Many venues planned for Beijing 2022 are legacies from the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, such as the National Stadium, which is known as the Bird's Nest and will stage the opening and closing ceremonies of Beijing 2022, and the National Aquatics Center, which will be transformed to host curling event.

"It is very important that Beijing 2022 is going to use the legacy of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. It's a good example of using this legacy. I think the legacy of Beijing 2022 will also be a great legacy for the future of Chinese winter sports," said Zhukov.

In the second project review, the IOC Coordination Commission and Beijing 2022 discussed a wide range of topics including construction of venues and infrastructure, marketing and Games publicizing campaign.

Source: Xinhua