Chinese authorities have announced that tickets for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic games will not be made available to the general public. The announcement comes on the heels of the first confirmed case of the omicron variant being detected in mainland China on January 15th.
The Olympic Organizing Committee announced Monday that they would be distributing tickets to Chinese residents who had completed the required “COVID-19 countermeasures”.
Their full statement via a translator said “In terms of the grim and complex situation of epidemic prevention and control [and] in order to protect the health and safety of Olympic personnel and spectators, we have decided to change the original plan of public ticket sales.”
The Olympics are currently slated to kick off on February 4th, with the Paralympic games opening on March 4th. However several events, such as the Women’s Hockey round robin, kick off a few days prior to the opening ceremonies.
Foreigners were already banned from purchasing tickets to Olympic events, but the new measures will also severely restrict Chinese nationals from attending events as well. Organizers had previously barred travellers from entering Beijing in an effort to prevent the new omicron variant from reaching the Olympic venues, however the city announced its first confirmed case 2 days ago.
As with most announcements stemming from China, there aren’t many details beyond the fact that the general public will not be able to attend Olympic events. While many outlets are assuming the government will restrict spectators to sponsors, government officials, or military personnel, the parameters around ticket distribution have yet to be confirmed.
In a concurrent press release from the IOC Monday, the Olympic Committee stated “The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 spectator policy was announced today. Given the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to ensure the safety of all participants and spectators, it has been decided that tickets should not be sold anymore but be part of an adapted programme that will invite groups of spectators to be present on site during the Games. The organisers expect that these spectators will strictly abide by the COVID-19 countermeasures before, during and after each event so as to help create an absolutely safe environment for the athletes.”
Chinese officials will attempt to keep the Olympic Games in a “closed loop” to minimize any contact with the public.