Winter Olympics preparation to be 80 pct. ready in 2019

The organizing committee of Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics said it reached several milestones in the preparation work in 2018, and that it expects work involving the facilities and personnel to be 80 percent ready in 2019.

According to the committee, directors for all 15 sports disciplines and 11 categories at the 2022 Games have been decided; the committee has signed agreements in principle on major issues with seven international single-sport event associations for the Games, including technical support from them; and all events for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics have also been determined.

Tong Lixin, director of the Sports Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee, said the department has played a very positive role in construction of the sport venues as it provided much technical expertise in the construction process. Tong said the committee has launched National Technical Officers (NTO) trainings and worked closely with various sports associations in the country.

The committee said they will work even harder in 2019 to implement all the specific plans, coordinate with sports associations, advance all the facilities preparations, work out competition schedules and registration procedures, and step up NTO trainings.

Tong said the first official test event for the 2022 Games will be held in February 2020, and there will also be a series of other test events and practice sessions beforehand. "Therefore, all the facilities and personnel will be 80 percent ready by the end of 2019," Tong said.