While the world's attention was focused on the thrilling performances and intense competition in the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, a group of foreigners, along with their Chinese counterparts, were making a significant contribution to the grand event's success.
Getting the messages across
Only 26 international interpreters and 12 Chinese interpreters provided simultaneous interpretation services in seven languages, including Chinese, English, French, and Russian, for the relevant parties during the nearly 20-day competition and hundreds of press conferences.
According to Alex Ponomarev, the chief interpreter of Beijing 2022, "We provide a remote simultaneous transmission service, so tons of translation work can be done online at the same time."
It was Ponomarev's eighth time to be working as a simultaneous interpreter for the Olympic Games. What is impressive is that he made his first Olympic debut at the Games in 2008.
"At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, there were nearly 220 interpreters traveling to different venues every day to provide simultaneous interpretation services. For the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, simultaneous interpretation was provided online through the remote simultaneous translation center," he said.
Ponomarev said changes in technology have made translation services more sustainable and streamlined. Even in the face of the challenges of COVID-19, all interpreters could present safe and lively simultaneous services.
Fully utilizing the venue
Harald Springfeld, who was born in Innsbruck, Austria — a city that has hosted two Olympic Winter Games, served as Beijing 2022's Chief Ice Hockey adviser. He and his team were responsible for the renovation of the ice hockey venue before the Games and Games-time operation of the venue.
"The Fan" (National Indoor Stadium in Beijing) and Wukesong Stadium are all legacy venues used in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. For Springfeld, it was a unique experience to renovate two venues for the Winter Olympics. "It brings me great joy to see hockey players from all over the world experiencing the fruits of our transformation and providing positive feedback," he said.
Compared to other Winter Olympics events, hockey competitions need on-site laundry and garment-making services for players and referees. Springfeld collaborated with Chinese engineers to convert shipping containers into locker rooms and provide washing and drying services for each team's game clothing to ensure that the users get clean clothing returned within three hours.
"It is a green and cost-effective practice," said Springfeld, adding that the proper transformation not only meets the event's unique needs, but also fully embodies the Olympic Games' player-centered philosophy.
Preserving legacies
In 2022, Beijing became the first city in the world to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, making it the first dual Olympic city. Laszlo Vajda of Hungary was involved in Beijing's bid for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and worked in the village planning and operation department. Vajda expressed his delight at being able to contribute to Beijing 2022.
Vajda moved to Beijing in 2005 and began working on preparations for the Summer Olympics in 2008. His stories about the Winter Olympics continued in 2022.
"Being involved in the preparation work for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 is a wonderful gift for me because it allowed me to fully utilize my abilities and experience," he said.
Thanks to the valuable legacy of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in human resources, the volunteer team continues to grow, and the volunteer service continues to innovate and improve. Over 1,000,000 volunteer applications were sent to Vajda's team, demonstrating this improvement. "You can see that there is a lot of enthusiasm for volunteering right now in China," said Vajda.
In addition, many professionals trained during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are essential to further implementing various policy planning and service initiatives for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and realize relevant suggestions proposed by Vajda's team.