The Winter Sports EXPO at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) that opened in Beijing on September 4, 2020 gathered dazzling “black technologies” designed for the 2022 Winter Olympics, along with many advanced winter sports devices that interact with people.

Virtual System for Venue Design

A big screen showed the digital virtual model of the National Alpine Skiing Centre of China at the pavilion of Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Visitors could use a handheld controller to change the viewing angles and shift between different positions for a close look at the venue structure.

According to the exhibitor, the system supports life-size digital simulation of a building to help save costs of venue operation design and broadcasting planning.

A technician said that in addition to the National Alpine Skiing Centre, models of the venues such as the National Aquatics Centre, the Wukesong Sports Centre and the Capital Indoor Stadium had been completed and modeling for other venues would be completed by the end of 2020.

In addition to assisting in venue design, the system allows media to select positions online for broadcasting the sports games.

“Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, many media organizations and professionals, including Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), selected their positions through this system,” the exhibitor said.

“For example, they can select a position in the skiing venue from home by using virtual system, and then make their broadcasting plan based on that.”

“It is more convenient than using a plan drawing which usually requires onsite surveys and coordination between different departments for space allocation for the media and route design for athletes and audiences. The online operations can help save both time and labor cost.”

Cloud broadcasting expected to be used for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

In the same pavilion, a big broadcasting screen caught the eyes of many visitors. This cloud broadcasting system is expected to be used to broadcast events like test events for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, according to a staff member from the developer.

The staff member said the system was developed for making lower-cost professional broadcasts of sports games more easily available to the public.

He said a relatively small-size event can be broadcast through the cloud platform immediately after content collection, a more efficient and economical solution compared with using an outside broadcast vehicle with a professional crew.

“For example, a football match at a primary school can be recorded by a  smartphone for broadcast through this system. It is easy and economical,” he added.

The system was used for the 2018 Youth Olympics held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October 2018 and received positive response, according to the staff member.

Visitors Experience Winter Sports in Exhibition Pavilions

Interactive projects were an eye-catcher at the Winter Sports EXPO. There was an assortment of devices and facilities on site for visitors to experience skiing, skating, curling and other ice and snow sports.

In the Shijingshan Services for 2022 Winter Olympics Pavilion was a curling rink open to the public. Project leader Zhao Zhenhua said they did a pioneering job nationwide to employ the trans-critical CO2 cycle direct refrigeration method and modular assembly to build the surface of the rink.

“Modular assembly enables the size of the rink to be adjusted, while trans-critical cycle refrigeration means eco-friendly refrigerants and low energy consumption,” he said, citing the example that the annual power consumption of a standard Olympic ice rink in Beijing is less than 500,000 KWh.

In the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Pavilion, there is a simulator for kids and a training device for adults and pro players to experience skiing.