Culture and volunteering
Culture is an important aspect of the Beijing 2022 legacy, with the creation of new cultural spaces for residents and communities after the Games, the continuation of events combining culture and winter sports, and the rolling-out of cultural services for the public.
Olympic cultural squares, parks and facilities in the competition zones are now used for public fitness and recreational activities, seminars and exhibitions of Olympic culture and art. Meanwhile, the Beijing Olympic Museum, the Beijing Institute for International Olympic Studies and educational centres such as the Institute for Art continue to operate as platforms for exchanging Olympic culture, art and research.
Such post-Games developments build on the activities held as part of the Beijing 2022 City Live Sites initiative, which laid on cultural events and sports taster sessions for the public. Seven such sites were open across China during the Games: three of them in Beijing, one each in the Zhangjiakou and Yanqing zones, and one each in the cities of Ma’anshan and Dunhuang.
As well as watching live coverage of Olympic events on a giant screen, visitors to the sites also enjoyed live music and performances that showcased folk culture, Chinese festivals, and ice- and snow-themed art.
Taster sessions gave people the opportunity to try their hand at skating, skiing, curling, ice hockey and biathlon, among other sports, and there were also virtual and esports activations for gaming aficionados, as well as exhibitions detailing the history of winter sports and performances by Chinese athletes in the Olympic Winter Games.
The ties between the Olympic Movement and the people of China have been further strengthened through volunteering.
The platform and system used to recruit volunteers at Beijing 2022 has been maintained and enhanced, as have some of the 856 volunteer-service points in Beijing and Zhangjiakou, which now provide services for the general public.
Meanwhile, standards have been put in place for the recruitment of volunteers, and coordination management and regulations improved. Effective training is also provided along with incentive mechanisms and certificates recognising volunteers for their services and achievements.
Over 4.751 million people have now registered with the Beijing Volunteer Service Federation, with 130,000 of them having signed up to assist people with disabilities.
Beijing’s volunteer organisations also assist the poverty-stricken, the elderly and the city’s orphans, and provide disaster relief and medical and educational support. In addition, they play an important role at conferences, exhibitions, and cultural and sports events.
Beijing 2022 attracted more than 1.15 million applications from all over the world, with 18,000 Games volunteers and 200,000 city volunteers eventually lending a helping hand at Games time in areas such as venue management, language services and press operations.