The launching ceremony for the first anniversary celebration of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games is held at the Shougang Ice Hockey Arena, in Beijing, China, on Feb 4, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
BEIJING - The launching ceremony for the first anniversary celebration of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games was held at Beijing's Shougang Ice Hockey Arena on Saturday.
Beijing 2022 athletes, volunteers, venue designer, and operation staff shared their Olympic memories at the ceremony. During the following two-month celebration, a series of winter sports activities organized for people of all ages will take place in the co-host cities, Beijing and Zhangjiakou.
Beijing became the first city in Olympic history to host both the summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games, and all of you were an essential part in writing this great chapter in Olympic history.
Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee President
Yin Yong, mayor of Beijing, congratulated on the launch of the anniversary celebration and noted at the ceremony that the Beijing Winter Olympic spirit will be carried forward by the people and the dual Olympic city Beijing will further deepen its own development and international cooperation in the future.
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"China can look back with great pride into the past and with even greater confidence in the future," International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach noted via video link at the ceremony.
"Beijing became the first city in Olympic history to host both the summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games, and all of you were an essential part in writing this great chapter in Olympic history," he added.
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On Wednesday, the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee (BOCOG) released the Beijing 2022 Post-Games Sustainability Report and the Beijing 2022 Post-Games Legacy Report.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach delivers his speech via video link during the launching ceremony for the first anniversary celebration of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the Shougang Ice Hockey Arena, in Beijing, China, on Feb 4, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
"The impressive legacy of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 has set the path for the future. The Olympic community in China demonstrated our new Olympic motto at its best: Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together," Bach said.
