Beijing 2022 looks to learn from PyeongChang 2018

Beijing, May 9 (IANS) The organisers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics recently concluded a series of talks centering on PyeongChang 2018 and what can be learned for Beijing's showpiece event in 2022.

Participants from the Beijing Organising Committee, relevant government departments, venue owners, designers and other stakeholders all took part in the discussions over the last two weeks, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Olympic Games Knowledge Management (OGKM) programme from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provides a significant amount of collective wisdom on the nuances of the operations and how it can benefit future organising committees.

From November 2017 to March 2018, Beijing 2022 sent a total of 254 staff members to PyeongChang 2018 to get first-hand experience. Some 41 staff members joined a talent exchange programme and were placed in key roles in the local organising committee.

Some 144 staff members participated in an observational capacity.

After PyeongChang 2018, Beijing 2022 began an initiative drive to establish workshops looking to explore specific areas surrounding what they saw at the Games. The discussions, consisting of 21 modules and 107 topics, focused on practical learning and nailed down the knowledge required to start preparing for the Games.

The brainstorming sessions looked at the planning, operational and technical elements of organising the Olympic and the Paralympic Winter Games. There were also sessions addressing the experiences of the athletes, spectators, workforce and the media.

Yan Cheng, Head of the Human Resources Department of the Beijing Organising Committee, said that before the trip to PyeongChang, all of these observers summarised nearly 2000 questions.

The IOC also weighed in on the discussions. 

"It's a great discussion as the brainstorming is very much in line with the learning characteristics involved in delivering the Olympic Games," the IOC Head of OGKM, Christopher Payne, said in an email to the organisers.