Status: 02/04/2022 07:28 a.m
–
–
–
The Beijing Winter Olympics begin with a grand opening ceremony. Only a few representatives of democratic states will sit in the VIP gallery. It’s not just because of Corona that the games will be complicated.
By Benjamin Eyssel, ARD Studio Beijing
–
–
–
–
In Beijing, the Olympic Games officially begin with an opening ceremony in the evening (local time, 1 p.m. CET). It will be mainly state guests from authoritarian countries and dictatorships who will sit on the grandstand in the national stadium.
Benjamin Eyssel
ARD-Studio Peking
–
–
–
–
–
Because of China’s human rights violations, states such as the USA, Canada and Great Britain are boycotting the games politically. The German federal government is also not sending any politicians to China – albeit without officially pronouncing a boycott.
“Most heads of state who come here are from authoritarian states,” Tamara Anthony, ARD Beijing
Tagesschau 12:00 p.m., February 4th, 2022
–
–
China and Russia emphasize friendship
The most prominent guest is Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. He is meeting with China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping in advance. In the face of increasing pressure from democratically governed states, Russia and China are demonstratively moving closer together.
Yesterday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi received Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Both emphasized the friendship and strategic cooperation between the two countries.
Games are extremely politically charged
China never tires of warning against mixing politics and sport – together with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). But the games are extremely politically charged, which is also shown by the demonstrative solidarity between Russia and China shortly before the opening ceremony.
In the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, it will be the most complicated Olympics ever. Because of China’s strict zero-Covid strategy, they take place under the strictest corona precautions in a so-called bubble, completely isolated from the rest of the People’s Republic.
Enormous effort
The effort is enormous, there are specially set up transport systems between the venues and the Olympic villages and daily corona tests for everyone. Fans from abroad are not allowed.
Meanwhile, more and more athletes, coaches and other accredited people are testing positive – upon arrival at the airport or in the bubble. On Thursday, 21 infected people were discovered in more than 72,000 corona tests. Six of them are from Germany, but it is still unclear whether they are athletes.
Almost 400 corona cases
Those infected are isolated and have to worry about their participation in the Olympics. They are only allowed out of isolation if they can show two negative PCR tests.
There are almost 400 corona cases in total – with around 12,000 people who have traveled to the games since the beginning of January.
The most complicated games of all time are opened
Benjamin Eyssel, ARD Beijing, 4.2.2022 · 06:32
–
–
Moderation
2/4/2022 • 4:05 p.m
–
Closing of the comment function
Dear user, the comment function for this topic is now closed. Thank you for your lively discussion. Yours sincerely, the moderator
–
–
–
–
