Beijing Daily
Wu Dong
February 18, 2022
Volunteers and staff cleaning in-run track after ski jumping competition on February 17th Photo: Jiang Kehong/Xinhua News Agency
Birthday celebration at a volunteers’ home in the Olympic Green on February 15th Photo: Chen Zhonghao/ Xinhua News Agency
Volunteers are vital to the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said Teng Shengping, Director-General of the Volunteers Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee, at the daily press conference of the 2022 Winter Olympics yesterday.
More than 18,000 volunteers were recruited for the Beijing Winter Olympics. According to Teng, 63% of the volunteers are working in the Beijing competition area while the rest are in the Yanqing and the Zhangjiakou competition areas, accounting for 12% and 25% respectively. These well-trained volunteers provide services covering 41 categories like competition, venue management, translation, and news reporting. Most of them, 94% to be specific, are under the age of 35.
Beijing Daily learned that for the first time in Olympic history, the committee set up “volunteers’ homes” – places exclusive to volunteers – at both competition and non-competition venues, with spaces for resting, learning, and team building. To make their homes cozy and comfortable, the volunteers have decorated the places with greenery, paintings and Chinese artworks such as calligraphy, paper-cutting, door couplets, and lanterns.
From identity cards and uniforms to canteens, dormitories, healthcare, and others, the Beijing Organizing Committee has provided all the necessary things, saving the volunteers many troubles as they are offering services.
In return, the volunteers serving in multiple areas, such as in competitions, registration, transportation, sports presentation, and the opening and closing ceremonies, have worked enthusiastically with many compliments.
Tessa Maud, an American snowboarder, shared on social media a picture of her and volunteers, saying that she would miss them very much after she was moved to tears by Sun Zeyu from Tsinghua University with a simple greeting at the opening ceremony.
Liu Yao is a volunteer at the National Cross-country Skiing Center in the Zhangjiakou competition area. Alessandra Tarantino from the Associated Press has recorded Liu’s hard work with his camera as she was providing transportation service in the cold wind. Du Anna, a volunteer at the Main Media Center, earned praise from the transportation inspection team of the IOC for her effort in making QR codes that carry the information of the latest shuttle bus schedule.
EVS volunteers are waving flags printed with Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the 2022 Olympics, at competition venues. They are warming up the audience by dancing with them and “competing” with the mascot.
As Japanese athlete Chinami Yoshida was appreciating the stunning snow scene of Beijing, she thanked volunteers for their hard work in shoveling away ice and snow on a cold morning.
During the Lantern Festival that fell on February 15th this year, volunteers at the Yanqing Olympic Village managed to make athletes feel at home through festive activities like paper cutting, lantern riddle guessing, and traditional Chinese dragon and lion dances. At the same moment, American athletes at the Beijing Olympic Village are also experiencing the folklore of the Lantern Festival along with volunteers.
Yaniv Ashkenazi, head of Israel’s delegation to the Winter Olympics, expressed his gratitude to the volunteers in an interview. “We are grateful to the Chinese volunteers. They are helpful and courteous. And they are always ready to help others,” said Ashkenazi.
“Eighteen thousand volunteers, upbeat and confident, are just like glittering snowflakes welcoming friends from around the world”, said Teng.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach also paid tribute to the volunteers at the opening ceremony, saying that “You make us feel at home from the very first moment we arrived. Your smiling eyes are warming our hearts.”
Rewritten by Xu Leiying and Guan Yuhua, Fudan University
