In the year 1924, the first Winter Olympics were held in France. Almost 100 years later, the 24th Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing, China this February. The competition will feature a variety of well-known events that will draw fans from all across the world. 

This year’s Winter Olympics will begin on February 4th and will go until February 20th. The event has drawn a total of 90 countries, which will compete against one another to determine who is the greatest in the world based on where their athletes place. 

Some of the sports that are held during the Winter Olympics are very well known, and the millions of spectators who tune in enjoy watching their favorite athletes fight for their spot to win the gold. All around, 15 major sports will be held with 109 medal events. The most well-known sports consist of figure skating, snowboarding, ice hockey, and skiing.   

Along with Beijing being the main location, two other locations will host other sports. Yanqing is a District of Beijing and is only 50 miles from the city’s center. It will be hosting the sport of alpine skiing, and it also has an Olympic village for the participants and officials to stay in. Zhangjiakou is another location that will hold all other skiing and snowboarding events, and the Olympic Village located there can hold around 2,700 people.   

With a total of 2,821 competitors, only 90 countries are competing out of the 195 countries in the world. Some big-name countries participating in the games include the United States, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Switzerland. Missing from the list of major competitors this year is North Korea, suspended from Olympic competition by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) for refusing to send athletes to Tokyo for the Summer Games. 

Sending 222 total athletes, the United States can look forward to seeing many USA athletes across their screens. One big name returning is snowboarder Shaun White, who won his first of three gold medals in 2006.

In an interview with TODAY Beijing, White said it would most likely be his last Olympics at the age of 35. Another well-known American athlete is Chloe Kim who made history back in 2018 being the youngest athlete in halfpipe to win gold. 

Overall, the 2022 Winter Olympics should not be disappointing to viewers. Fans can tune into NBC and NBC Sports, Peacock, Hulu TV, and live TV to watch the Beijing Winter Olympics beginning February 4th.