Winter Olympics

In News

• The Russian President, Pakistan Prime Minister, and five Presidents from Central Asia will be heading to China for the opening of the Winter Olympics.

About

• The Russian President will discuss the ongoing crisis with Ukraine with the Chinese President.
• China has close relations with Russia but has been largely silent on the crisis in Ukraine amid a build-up of Russian forces along its borders.
• The Pakistan Prime Minister is expected to discuss investments from China and speed up the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) plan.

Winter Olympics

• Winter Olympics is the premier competition for sports that are played on ice or snow. It is held every four years and features participants from across the world.
• Ice skating, ice hockey, skiing and figure skating are some of the popular sports that are played at the Winter Games.
• The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.
• Winter sports were initially played at the Summer Olympics, with the 1908 London Olympics hosting four figure skating events and Antwerp 1920 having figure skating as well as ice hockey.
• In 1924, a separate event was created for winter sports, called the International Winter Sports Week.
• It was held in Chamonix, France – the host country for the 1924 Summer Olympics.
• Two years later, the International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix was officially recognised as the first Winter Olympic Games.
• This years’ edition of the Winter Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, China from 4th February to 20th February 2022.
• India has been participating in the Winter Olympics since 1964.

Source: Olympics