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Venues used during the hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 are set to be reused during the Winter Olympic Games in 2022.

Since the staging of the 2008 Olympics, major venues used during the Games have remained in regular use, with the Beijing Water Cube aquatics centre being converted into a public waterpark and the ‘Bird’s Nest’ National Stadium regularly hosting a variety of major sporting events, including the 2015 IAAF World Athletics Championships.

With Beijing set to host the 2022 Winter Olympics along with the city of Zhangjiakou, as reported by Australasian Leisure Management in August last year, Games organisers will now make use of existing venues from the 2008 Games.

Organisers plan that the Water Cube will stage the curling events, the National Indoor Stadium will be used for ice hockey, and the Opening and Closing ceremonies scheduled to once again take place at the Bird’s Nest.

In addition, Beijing 2022 will benefit from several major infrastructure projects that were completed ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, including the construction of a new terminal and runway at the city’s international airport, which increased passenger capacity from 20 to 25 million in 2002 to 65-75 million in 2008.

The Games also led to a complete expansion of the Beijing main road network and a massive extension and renovation of the city’s metro system, with the addition of several new subway lines and a high-speed rail link to Tianjin.

In total, public transport capacity was increased by 4.5 million ahead of the 2008 Games, leading to a reduction in road congestion, providing one of many environmental legacies from the Games.

Authorities also invested US$21 billion in air quality improvements, with 60,000 coal-burning boilers being upgraded to reduce emissions and more than 4,000 public buses being converted to run on natural gas.

Commenting on planning for the Winter Olympics, Beijing 2022 Spokeswoman Wang Hui stated “sustainability is the core value that the International Olympic Committee tries to embody (and) reusing the venues built for 2008 is in line with the IOC’s philosophy and will significantly cut the cost of hosting the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

“The 2008 Games left a profound legacy, such as accessible venues and an urban transportation system that we are still using. All these facilities and assets have been operating effectively since then, and will provide Beijing with a big edge for 2022.”

The move to sustainability by the 2022 Olympic Winter Games organisers comes following repeated reports of the organisers of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games asking for more funding from the South Korean Government.

Image shows the Beijing Water Cube (foreground) with China's National Stadium behind.

29th June 2016 - RISING COSTS LEAD PYEONGCHANG 2018 ORGANISERS TO ASK SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT FOR MORE FUNDING

9th August 2015 - BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS TO MIX VENUE RE-USE AND EXTRAVAGANT SPENDING

1st August 2015 - BEIJING CHOSEN TO HOST 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

19th November 2014 - IOC LOOKS TO FUTURE OLYMPIC GAMES CO-HOSTING UNDER AGENDA 2020 REFORMS

6th November 2013 - BEIJING AND ZHANGJIAKOU LAUNCH JOINT BID TO HOST THE 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

28th July 2010 - BEIJING WATER CUBE SET FOR WATERPARK REBIRTH

22nd December 2009 - BEIJING’S OLYMPIC STADIUM EVOLVES INTO WINTER SPORTS PARK

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