BEIJING — International Olympic Committee's Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi has spoken highly of the efforts that China has put in to ensure everyone's safety at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"What was always important was to make the distinction between those that would be delivering the Games inside a closed loop, and the citizens of China outside the closed loop," said Dubi.
"Really no effort is spared, no stone unturned to keep everybody safe. The degree of sophistication of the operation is something unprecedented. The job that has been done is absolutely remarkable," he added.
For Dubi, China has a very successful strategy against the pandemic. "We can see the results with the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases being extremely low."
Dubi has visited some venues for Beijing 2022 and has been overwhelmed by them. "The images that we have from the field of play are absolutely stunning. What has been prepared so far from a physical standpoint is absolutely impeccable."
After visiting the National Speed Skating Oval, also known as Ice Ribbon, Dubi called it a venue "that takes your breath away."
"The visual impression from outside and inside is absolutely formidable," he pointed out.
As for those legacy venues from the 2008 Olympic Games, Dubi said: "The job that has been done to reconvert them into winter sports ones is amazing. The look of the venues is also of great quality."
"What is important is that once you have the venue, make sure that they are used," said Dubi. "You should not only consider the summer activities. It's 365 days. For the rest of the world and winter sports, it is obvious China having more participants means more opportunities as well to exchange between sports organization."