(Reuters) – Beijing is preparing to host its second Olympics, 14 years after staging the Summer Games. Following are some numbers relating to the XXIV Winter Olympics, which open in the Chinese capital on Friday:
2,900 – Number of athletes representing 90 National Olympic Committees expected to arrive in China for the Games, along with 25,000 other stakeholders.
109 – Number of medal events in 15 disciplines across seven winter sports, an increase of seven events from 2018.
13 – Number of venues across Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, including five legacy venues from the Summer Olympics in 2008.
55-45 – The gender balance at the 2022 Olympics, with more female athletes (45%) and more women’s events (46) than at previous Games.
1 – Number of events without female involvement. Nordic combined, which involves cross-country skiing and ski jumping, is still men only but the International Ski Federation (FIS) has plans to break down that final barrier at the 2026 Games.
4,000 – Number of performers involved in the opening ceremony. That compares with 15,000 at the ceremony for the 2008 Olympics, also directed by Zhang Yimou.
0 – Number of international spectators at the Games due to COVID-19 restrictions in China. Selected groups of invited locals will be in the venues, which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hopes will be at least a third full.
2,900 – Number of blood and urine samples the International Testing Agency plans to collect for doping analysis during the Games.
63,548 – Number of COVID-19 tests taken inside the Olympics closed loop as of Jan. 31, including 3,103 by athletes.
1,140 – On-site medical personnel at the competition venues in Beijing, along with 74 ambulances.
$880,000,000 – Contribution from the IOC towards the Beijing organisers’ costs.
350 kilometres per hour (220 mph) – Top speed of the driverless trains on the new 174km railway linking Beijing with the mountain venues at Zhangjiakou and Yanqing.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma; Editing by Ken Ferris)
