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Beijing Olympic Village officially open for 2022 Winter Games for athletes around the world

international olympic committee
·4 min read

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Villages officially opened Thursday, welcoming the world’s top winter sports athletes to Beijing, Zhangjiakou and Yanqing ahead of this year’s Games, which will take place between Feb. 4-20.

Approximately 2,900 athletes are expected to arrive from around 90 National Olympic Committees (NOCs). They will compete in 109 events, which are set to begin in a week.

The Beijing Olympic Village is located in the Chaoyang district of the city, close to the Olympic Park. It will predominantly house athletes competing in the ice sports at Beijing 2022. The Village facilities will include 2,300 beds for athletes and officials.

A local resident hired as a cleaner for a traditional courtyard house turned into lodging for tourists inspects one of the rooms in Houheilong Miao, a village in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The village has a view of the Olympics skiing venue in the distance. Its 20 mostly vacant traditional courtyard houses have been turned into lodgings and a cafe dubbed the "Winter Olympic Home."

In Zhangjiakou, the Olympic Village will accommodate 2,640 athletes and team officials taking part in freestyle skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, ski jumping and cross-country skiing.

The third Olympic Village, in Yanqing, is designed in line with the cultural characteristics of mountain villages in northern China. It highlights Chinese culture and environmental protection, as well as an athlete-centered design concept. This site will accommodate 1,430 athletes – including Medway's Zack DiGregorio – and team officials who will be taking part in alpine skiing, luge, bobsleigh and skeleton.

Read: Medway's Zack DiGregorio headed to Winter Olympics in luge doubles

After the Games, the Beijing Olympic Village will be turned into apartments for rent or sale, while the Yanqing and Zhangjiakou Olympic Villages will become hotels, apartments and a business cluster to serve the region’s winter sports industry.

FILE - Workers deliver a cart loaded with equipment to a commercial plaza at the Winter Olympic Village in Beijing on Dec. 24, 2021. North Korea said Friday, Jan. 7, 2022 it would skip next month's Beijing Olympics because of the COVID-19 pandemic and "hostile forces' moves," a largely redundant statement since the country has already been banned from the Games by the IOC. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

All Village residents will be following strict COVID-19 protocols outlined in the Beijing 2022 Playbook. These include living and operating within a closed loop system, which separates Games participants from the local population.

Athlete services for 2022 Beijing Olympics

At each of the Olympic Villages, a wide range of services are being offered to ensure athletes make the most of their Olympic experience in Beijing.

Core services include: a hair salon, cafe, bank, post office, general store, merchandise store, Samsung store, photo shop, telecom store (for SIM cards) and newsstand. In addition, the resident centers will offer business centers, self-service laundry, general maintenance and housekeeping support.

See: USA TODAY's coverage of the 2022 Beijing Olympics

With health and safety a key component of Games-time operations, medical services are available in each Village within Polyclinics, staffed by healthcare professionals. Within each of these are IOC SAFE SPORT offices. They will offer educational materials and resources on both safeguarding athletes from harassment and abuse in sport, and on the IOC Mentally Fit campaign. There is also a 24/7 Mental Health Helpline in place for confidential mental health support for all athlete and entourage members, in over 70 languages.

A worker takes down coverings around an exhibit on Chinese culture at a commercial plaza at the Winter Olympic Village in Beijing on Dec. 24, 2021. Organizers on Friday gave the media a look at parts of the athletes' Olympic Village for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which will be held beginning in February.
A worker takes down coverings around an exhibit on Chinese culture at a commercial plaza at the Winter Olympic Village in Beijing on Dec. 24, 2021. Organizers on Friday gave the media a look at parts of the athletes' Olympic Village for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which will be held beginning in February.

A number of services located throughout each of the plazas and residential zones include fitness centers containing the latest gym equipment and several recreational activities. During their downtime, athletes can try out virtual reality spaces, play pool or table tennis, and watch all of the live action on the many TVs that will be located throughout the Villages.

Each location will offer a 24-hour food service, serving cuisines from across the world, catering for all dietary needs.

Meet: The 33 New Englanders competing for Team USA in the 2022 Winter Olympics

In addition, each Village Plaza has a Chinese cultural display and traditional Chinese medicine exhibition, while the Beijing Olympic Village Plaza has a display of the venues. The Yanqing Olympic Village Plaza has a miniature ice replica of the Great Wall that separates the media from athletes in the mixed zone.

On arrival, athletes will receive an exclusive gift bag containing a range of products provided by P&G. These will include: hand sanitizer, shampoo, body wash, hand wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, detergent and skin care products, as well as a pin, a mascot and a painting from local school children.

Team USA Beijing winter Olympics Olympic village merchandise designed by Ralph Lauren is displayed on Jan. 19, 2022, in New York.
Team USA Beijing winter Olympics Olympic village merchandise designed by Ralph Lauren is displayed on Jan. 19, 2022, in New York.

Athletes can also visit the Samsung Galaxy store located in each Village, where they can pick up their limited-edition Galaxy Z Flip 3 mobile phone. The phone will come with a case, Bluetooth earbuds, a Coca-Cola Beijing 2022 Powerade Squeeze Bottle and the IOC’s welcome packet guide, which includes useful information to help the athletes settle into Village life.

The IOC has the Athlete365 Space in every Village, with a team on the ground to support and offer advice to athletes about the wide range of services available to them as members of the Athlete365 community, and to deliver the IOC Athletes’ Commission election. Athletes competing at Beijing 2022 will be able to vote for their representatives to fill the two vacant seats on the Commission. Ten female and seven male athletes from 17 NOCs, six sports and five continents are standing for election.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Beijing Olympic village now open ahead of 2022 Beijing winter Olympics