Beijing ready in "extraordinary Olympic year," says IOC president Bach

Thomas Bach makes his opening speech to the 137th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the second remote IOC Session in Olympic history, in Lausanne on March 10, 2021. (Photo courtesy of IOC/Greg Martin)

IOC president Thomas Bach has shown firm confidence that Beijing is ready for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach expressed his confidence at the 137th IOC Session that Beijing is ready for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in 2021, a year which sees parallel preparation for two Olympics.

The president reiterated that the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games will open on July 23 in his opening remarks in Lausanne on Wednesday and reaffirmed the same dedication from the IOC for Beijing 2022, which will be held approximately six months apart.

"We could already see at the recent One-Year-to-Go celebrations that their technical preparations are in an excellent state," Bach said.

The president went on to acknowledge the progress made in the preparation for Beijing 2022 and expressed his confidence in the winter sport spectacle.

"All the venues are completed. In fact, the test events for the mountain cluster just took place a few days ago. Despite the many challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, we can say already now with great confidence that the organizing committee is ready: ready to welcome the world's best winter sport athletes for this global celebration of sport."

"Preparing for two editions of the Olympic Games will continue to be challenging for many different reasons, over the next months of this extraordinary Olympic year," he added.

Both Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 organizers will report on the progress of the Games on Thursday as the IOC Session continues.