2019 Winter Expo Opens in Beijing: Gathering Global Resources to Boost Winter Olympics Development

      On October 17, the 2019 International Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo (hereinafter referred to as the Winter Expo) opened at the China National Convention Center in Beijing.

      The Winter Expo was co-hosted by the Beijing Olympic City Development Promotion Association and International Data Group, and organized by the Beijing Olympic City Development Promotion Center and IDG World Expo Ltd., with the support and participation of the International Olympic Committee, the seven international winter sports federations, the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the Chinese Olympic Committee, and the All-China Sports Federation. The 2019 International Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo continued the theme of "Power of Ice and Snow," emphasizing internationalization, industrialization, and mass participation. It aimed to build international communication channels for the ice and snow industry, create a cultural exchange platform for the ice and snow industry involving relevant government agencies and enterprises, promote the development of winter sports in China, boost the popularization of winter sports nationwide, foster a positive industrial and cultural atmosphere, and strongly support the preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

      Leaders and winter sports figures from home and abroad attended the opening ceremony and main forum of this Winter Expo. Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, sent congratulations via video, expressing his felicitations to the organizers of the Winter Expo on the occasion of the 2019 International Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo and wishing the conference great success. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, in a congratulatory video, said the International Winter Sports Expo was a milestone in Sino-Finnish winter sports cooperation this year, and that close collaboration between China and Finland would continue through the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and into the post-Olympic era.

      Zhang Jiandong, Vice Mayor of Beijing and Executive Vice President of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said: "I hope everyone can fully leverage your expertise, experience, and resources, make full use of the Winter Expo platform, engage in in-depth discussions and exchanges, conduct extensive practical cooperation in areas such as business matchmaking, project collaboration, personnel training, and winter tourism, and achieve more fruitful results. I also hope the Winter Expo organizing committee will further innovate the organization and operation of the event, work together with relevant domestic and international parties, continuously improve the professionalism, internationalization, and mass participation of the expo, make the Winter Expo better and better, and make new and greater contributions to promoting the high-quality development of ice and snow sports and the ice and snow industry, and hosting a splendid, extraordinary, and outstanding Olympic Games."

      The opening ceremony and main forum on the morning of the 17th were chaired by Liu Jingmin, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Olympic City Development Promotion Association. Keynote speeches were delivered by Hanna Kosonen, Minister of Science and Culture of Finland; Jan Dijkema, President of the International Skating Union; and Kate Caithness, President of the World Curling Federation. A roundtable dialogue on the theme of "Uniting the Power of Ice and Snow, Resonating Across the World" was held by Sara Lewis, Secretary General of the International Ski Federation and member of the Beijing 2022 Coordination Commission; Tong Lixin, Head of the Sports Department of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee; Beate Grimsrud, Ambassador of Norway to China; Demare, Minister-Counselor of the Italian Embassy in China; the Commercial Counselor of the Finnish Embassy in China and Head of the East Asia Division of Business Finland, Su Xiaoyue. In the afternoon, Yu Bo, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Yanqing District Committee and District Chief of Beijing; Wang Tingkai, Secretary of the CPC Jilin Municipal Committee of Jilin Province; Li Chunlin, Mayor of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province; Li Hong, Vice Mayor of Zhangjiakou Municipal Government, Hebei Province; Chen Zhe, Director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau; Michael Mayr, Sales Director for Asia of TechnoAlpin; and Zuo Xiaobing, Deputy District Chief of Shijingshan District, Beijing, delivered keynote speeches. Zhang Li, Vice President of IDG China, released the "China Ice and Snow Industry Development Research Report" on site. During the launch of the Changbai Mountain Index · "China Ice and Snow Tourism Index (2019)," Cao Wenzhong, Vice President of Xinhua News Agency China Economic Information Service, delivered a speech and launched the report with attending leaders, while Wei Sulong, Senior Researcher in Culture and Tourism of the Xinhua Index Business Unit of China Economic Information Service, gave a keynote speech. Zhao Yinggang, Vice Chairman of the Sustainability Commission of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee and President of the Chinese Luge Association, engaged in a champions' dialogue with Antoine Dénériaz, CEO of SAS Dénériaz and men's downhill champion of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics; Tanja Poutiainen, silver medalist in women's giant slalom at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and member of the Athletes' Commission of the Finnish Olympic Committee; figure skating world champion and CEO of Wings of Ice Tong Jian; and curling world champion Wang Bingyu.

      Over the four-day ice and snow extravaganza, the Winter Expo will comprehensively cover the ice and snow industry chain through exhibitions, the main forum, parallel forums, industry exchanges, and special events, adopting a multi-level, all-platform approach to explore the path of winter sports development in China and promote the growth of the country’s ice and snow industry.

      Hosting the Winter Expo is not only a fulfillment of the commitment made during the Winter Olympics bid but also an important measure to promote the Olympic spirit and support the preparation for the Beijing Winter Olympics. As the world’s premier ice and snow expo, the 2019 International Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo covers an exhibition area of 30,000 square meters, features over 20 parallel forums and supporting events, and attracts more than 600 domestic and international brands from nearly 20 global ice and snow powerhouses including Finland, Austria, and Italy, as well as various other countries and regions. Over 240 authoritative guests from various fields engage in in-depth discussions and exchanges on the latest achievements in the global ice and snow industry and the development path of winter sports in China. The exhibition is expected to attract over 160,000 visitors.

      The exhibition sets up more than ten themed exhibition areas, including the Olympic Theme Exhibition Area, National Pavilions, Winter and Alpine Technology, Indoor Ice and Snow Technology, Outdoor and Personal Equipment, Winter Tourism Destinations, Provincial and Municipal Pavilions and Winter Sports Culture, Ice and Snow Incubation, Ice and Snow in Schools, Media Exhibition Area, and Public Ice and Snow Carnival, systematically showcasing cutting-edge global equipment, ice and snow technology, winter sports tourism, and winter sports education industry achievements.

      In the Olympic Theme Exhibition Area, the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee booth showcases various content such as the progress of Winter Olympics preparations, venue distribution and planning, and knowledge about Winter Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games sports and competitions. The Chinese Olympic Committee makes another appearance at the Winter Expo, presenting exciting displays from three perspectives: its own image, preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and the goal of 300 million people participating in ice and snow sports. Exhibition areas such as Zhangjiakou, Yanqing, Shougang, and the Beijing TV Winter Olympics Documentary Channel showcase their achievements in Winter Olympics preparations from various angles and in diverse forms.

      Internationally, multiple countries including Finland, Austria, Norway, France, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, Georgia, the United States, Canada, and the Czech Republic participate as national pavilions. As the guest country of honor for the 2019 Winter Expo, Finland, led by the Finnish Ministry of Science and Culture, the Finnish Embassy in China, and Business Finland, brings a winter sports delegation comprising nearly 40 companies, sports associations, research institutions, and city representatives. Through three themes—education and training, intelligent design, and culture and tourism—the Finnish delegation showcases Finland’s ice and snow expertise at the Finnish Pavilion and during the Finnish Day series of events. Domestically, ice and snow provinces and cities such as Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shijingshan, Changbai Mountain, Yulin, and Altay highlight the thriving development of ice and snow in their respective regions.

      The Winter Expo site also gathers representative enterprises in large-scale winter sports machinery and equipment, alpine venue construction, indoor ice and snow creation, and ice and snow industry operation services. For example, Cabrinha, a comprehensive service provider in China’s skiing industry, brings snowmaking machines, snow blowers, and snow groomers into the Winter Expo, demonstrating the strength of China’s domestic ice and snow brands. Mingxing creates an all-weather snow park on site, launches a "mobile snow house" with great fanfare, and uses ice and snow VR panoramic displays to create a realistic ice and snow world for the public. The EUCERA Ice and Snow Experience Area sets up a real ice show stage, allowing visitors to experience real ice on the exhibition floor and thus attracting and encouraging the public to understand, participate in, and love ice and snow. In addition, well-known domestic and international brands such as Secret Garden Cloudtop, COUGA, Bombardier, VANDY, Doppelmayr, Sunshine Ski, Xueyilan, Nordtek, TechnoAlpin, Alpinestars, Decathlon, KONOX, ESPO, Yingjie, Hongliang Sports, Tuocheng Sports Technology, and Luckin Coffee also participated in this expo.

      Since its inception in 2016, the Winter Expo has, over four years of development, provided strong momentum for popularizing ice and snow sports in China, accelerating the rapid development of the ice and snow industry, and helping achieve the goal of "300 million people participating in ice and snow sports."

      At the "2019 International Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo Opening Ceremony and Main Forum" and over 20 parallel forums, more than 240 industry authorities and experts, including representatives of the International Olympic Committee, international winter sports federations, envoys to China from various countries, Winter Olympics champions, and government officials from domestic and international ice and snow cities, gathered in Beijing to deeply discuss the development path of China’s ice and snow industry and share their insights and suggestions on the development and promotion of winter sports in China.

      In addition to the opening ceremony and main forum, this Winter Expo also features parallel forums such as the Olympic City Development Forum, Finnish Day Themed Events, Ice and Snow Culture Development Forum, Ice and Snow Entrepreneurship Competition, China Hockey Development Forum, Ski Resort Operations Management Forum, China Ice and Snow Talent Development Forum, Ice and Snow Tourism Development Forum, Venue Design and Construction Forum, as well as a closed-door meeting of the International Ice and Snow Think Tank, all contributing ideas to achieve the goal of "300 million people participating in ice and snow sports."

      Promoting the comprehensive progress of winter sports in China and enhancing widespread public attention and participation is a major goal of the Winter Expo. To better disseminate ice and snow culture, this Winter Expo sets up a variety of richly formatted supporting activities, including the International Ice and Snow Think Tank, Sino-Finnish Winter Sports Year Series, Ice and Snow Industry Research Reports, WS TOPS Ice and Snow Industry Conference, Ice and Snow Entrepreneurship Competition, Ice and Snow Sports Personal Equipment Show, 2019 Ice and Snow Sports Industry Awards, Ice and Snow Experts Talk, Youth Ice and Snow Experiences, and Public Ice and Snow Carnival.

      The supporting activities of this Winter Expo have achieved new breakthroughs in industrial innovation. For example, the "International Ice and Snow Think Tank" leverages top-tier talent and the experience, resources, and networks of Europe and America’s developed ice and snow nations to provide comprehensive solutions for the development of China’s ice and snow industry. The "Ice and Snow Industry Research Report" serves closer exchanges and cooperation between China’s ice and snow industry and the international industry through continuous research and in-depth trend insights. The "WS TOPS Dongding Award," as a highly influential annual award in China’s ice and snow industry, showcases and promotes the cutting-edge dynamics of the ice and snow industry to the general public.The "Ice and Snow Entrepreneurship Competition" aims to discover and incubate a number of ice and snow innovation and entrepreneurship projects through the Winter Expo platform, creating future stars for China’s ice and snow industry. The "Ice and Snow Sports Personal Equipment Show" gathers ice and snow and outdoor apparel brands to showcase the latest wearable technology and fashion trends in ice and snow on a runway-style event stage. In this activity, Yulin City organized over ten brands such as Yang Lao Da, Tonghai Cashmere, Qi Zhi Yang, Menseer, Hongliu, Dongnai’er, Qin Yang, Jiu Zhou Sai Shang Yang, Tian Yu Jiu Mu Yang, and Gan Sheng Ling to make appearances. The "2019 Ice and Snow Sports Industry Awards" delves into outstanding products in the ice and snow sports industry through three awards: "Innovative Product Award," "Top Design Award," and "Most Popular Award." The "Ice and Snow Experts Talk" explores and organizes the development trajectory of China’s ice and snow industry in light of current hot topics, providing more innovative ideas and inspiration for industry development. The "Youth Ice and Snow Experience" aims to promote the popularization of ice and snow education among young people.

      The Public Ice and Snow Carnival creates an ice and snow entertainment extravaganza for the audience through a variety of distinctive activities such as real snow experiences, ice rink interactions, curling experiences, ski simulators, and outdoor fashion shows. At the expo site, audiences can be seen watching ski athletes demonstrate their skills, experiencing the fun of ice and snow in the all-weather snow park and mobile snow houses, and interacting with performing singers in the French Alps exhibition area. These novel and fun interactive activities provide visitors with a perfect ice and snow experience.

      Using the expo as a platform to integrate global ice and snow industry resources, build industrial matchmaking platforms, drive industrial innovation, is an important goal the Winter Expo has been committed to promoting. The Winter Expo strengthens its "connective attributes," on one hand linking high-quality domestic and overseas resources, enhancing exchanges, cooperation, and industrial resource matchmaking between China and global ice and snow powerhouses, and on the other hand reinforcing internal connections, strengthening industrial matchmaking between southern and western regions and northern regions of China, expanding the coverage of the ice and snow industry, and promoting balanced industrial economic development.

      This Winter Expo attracts industry pioneers from various segments of the global winter sports industry, integrating a large amount of high-quality industrial resources and capital. It sets up a public stage and business negotiation area, providing a platform for showcasing and communicating high-quality ice and snow projects. The expo organizes a series of high-level industrial exchanges and matchmaking activities, including ice and snow resource promotions, quality enterprise matchmaking, key project signings, and city exchange meetings, offering a comprehensive commercial exchange platform for ice and snow industry practitioners to learn about the latest industry trends, gain market insights, showcase brand strength, and access industry resources. After four years of development, the Winter Expo continues to deepen industrialization, striving to put industrialization into practice from exchanges and exhibitions to cooperation. "Driving Industry with the Expo" promotes the tangible development of the ice and snow economy.

      Currently, continuously improving the quality and efficiency of sports development and meeting people’s needs for a better life have become one of the hallmark endeavors of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. As the world’s premier ice and snow expo, the 2019 International Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo will seize this opportunity, respond to the call of "300 million people participating in ice and snow sports," leverage its platform advantages and industry influence, connect resources within the winter sports industry, and build an integrated ice and snow industry platform encompassing equipment manufacturing, industrial services, ice and snow tourism, fitness, and culture, driving the development of China’s ice and snow industry.

      For more information about the Winter Expo, please visit: http://www.wwse2022.com/, or follow the WeChat official account of the "International Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo."