Future of Sport: A Global Sports Week x Viva Technology Collaboration, Will Open in June 14
12 Jun 2023 14:59
Beijing's National Stadium, which is a popular venue for music concerts, will
also be showcasing daredevil skiing air stunts at the end of the year.
The Beijing leg of the 2014-2015 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerials World Cup will be held at the 2008 Beijing Olympics venue for the second time, from Dec 20 to 21, offering electrifying world-level performances while igniting the capital's passion for winter sports, organizers said on Wednesday.
"As Beijing and nearby city Zhangjiakou (in Hebei province) are bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics, an international ski event comes at the right time and it will definitely attract more attention from the public for winter sports as well as promote Beijing to the world," Ren Hongguo, Party chief of the National Winter Sports Administration, said on Wednesday.
Li Nina, a retired female aerialist who won the world championships three
times, echoed Ren.
"The Olympic bid has drawn public interest to winter sports in the city, so we should take the opportunity to bring in more events and further push the passion for winter sports in Beijing," said Li, who competed at four Winter Olympics from 2002 to 2014.
Beijing, in a joint bid with Zhangjiakou, in July made the candidate list for hosting the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, but has faced doubts on the lack of a winter sporting tradition.
But Chen Jie, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, said the capital has a long history of skating in winter and it will help the public to appreciate winter sports by introducing more events like the aerial ski competition at the stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest.
"Hosting the event at a downtown stadium will help freestyle ski better appeal to the audience while drawing more people to come to enjoy the ski competition live," Chen said.
The two-day competition, which will see aerialists ski off high ramps to perform twists and flips in the air about 20 meters above the ground before landing on a slope, has attracted 50 top-level athletes from nine countries and regions to compete at the opening stop of this season' five-leg World Cup.
The competition was first held at the Bird's Nest last December, providing fresh experiences for skiing fans to enjoy such a traditional open-air event inside a major stadium.
The Chinese team, which is training at a ski camp in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, will send 14 aerialists to compete at the event.
Future of Sport: A Global Sports Week x Viva Technology Collaboration, Will Open in June 14
12 Jun 2023 14:59
Related coverage
China to host 2017 World Women's Curling Championships
23 Oct 2015
Beijing to offer sports coupons to residents
25 Sep 2017
IAAF Word Championships Beijing 2015 to be broadcast in more than 200 territories
21 Aug 2015
China to spread winter sports by bidding
13 Jan 2015
Beijing 2022 announce Cooking Oil & Grains Products Sponsor
20 Dec 2018
More from Yutang Sports
SportAccord's Interview with Gillian Sanders: Challenges for women in sport
26 Apr 2024
Interview with Andreas Zagklis: to keep popularization of basketball with all-round strategy
08 Jul 2024
Interview with Thomas Lund: to follow new trends and bring younger generations to the sport
17 Jun 2024
SportAccord Plenary Conference had fruitful talks about the soft power of sport
17 Apr 2024
SportAccord Summit 2024 Logo Unveiled
29 Nov 2023
Yutang Sports
loading...