Beijing 2022 to unlock booming market

BEIJING - Many signs are now pointing to an era of boom for the winter sports industry in China.

The Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (Beijing 2022) organizers Monday officially launched their marketing program amid the preparation for the country's second Olympics.

As China already announced an ambitious plan to involve 300 million people to participate in winter sports, especially among young people, and also aims at speeding up development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the marketing plan has a solid platform on which to base its development.

"The Olympic brand and the market in China make a very powerful starting position for the marketing platform. So I estimate that the value can be very, very high. In dollar terms, I think it will be over one billion," Timo Lumme, managing director of International Olympic Committee (IOC) television and marketing services, said at the launch ceremony.

According to the marketing plan, Beijing 2022 is scheduled to coincide with the spring festival holiday in order to provide a unique opportunity for marketers to reach a wider audience. The sponsorships for Beijing 2022 will last from 2017 to 2024, a long period running across two Olympiads.

Beijing 2022 marketing chief Piao Xuedong explains the huge value the program represents.

"The sponsors will be endorsing a world-top sports event -- the Olympics and their sponsorships will run through the period which includes two Summer Games and two Winter Games," said Piao.

"The sponsors can also expect quality services from us and their rights protected," Piao said.

As a matter of fact, Chinese entrepreneurs have already set their eyes on the lucrative returns that can be realized in supporting sports events, and the crown jewel of all events, the Olympics.

Recently, China's e-commerce giant Alibaba joined The Olympic Partner (TOP) worldwide sponsorship program as an official cloud services and e-commerce platform services partner, as well as a founding partner of the Olympic Channel. Alibaba is the first company to make a long-term commitment to the IOC through 2028, and the first Chinese company to commit to Beijing 2022.

"China expects the 2022 Olympics to usher in a new era for its winter sports efforts. It is an unprecedented opportunity for its winter sports industry," said Yi Jiandong, a sports industry expert.

While China and Asia have traditionally lagged behind Europe and North America in terms of the winter sports industry and competition prowess, Yi believes that the continent hosting two consecutive editions of the Winter Olympics will help shift the balance.

"With PyongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, the center of winter sports will move from Europe and North America to Asia," he said.

The flag bearer for the Chinese delegation at this month's Sapporo Asian Winter Games, China's short track speed skater star Wu Dajing, said he was deeply impressed by the fast growth in winter sports in China.

"With more Chinese people starting to practice winter sports and more investors coming in, as a Chinese winter sports athlete, I embrace the new era," he said.