Winter Sports Expo 2019 Opens In Beijing To Fuel The Upcoming Winter Olympics
On October 17, the World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo 2019 ("WWSE") was opened in China National Convention Center.
The WWSE, organized by Beijing Olympic City Development Association and IDG, implemented by Beijing Olympic City Development Center and IDG World Expo China Co., Ltd., has gained support from the IOC, the International Sports Federations, Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Chinese Olympic Committee and All-China Sports Federation. The WWSE 2019 has continued the theme of "power of ice and snow" and highlighted the international, industrial and public-oriented features. By building the communication channels for the international ice and snow industry, it works to become a cultural communication platform of the ice and snow industry, for good interactions between government departments and companies. It is an event aimed at advancing the development of Chinese winter sports, promoting the coverage of winter sports across China and forming a good industrial & cultural atmosphere. In a word, this event will aggressively fuel the hosting of the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics.
Leaders from all over the world and leaders of winter sports attended the opening ceremony for the Winter Sports Expo and the main forum. Thomas Bach, president of IOC (International Olympics Committee), congratulated the organizers on the hosting of the WWSE 2019 and wished the conference a complete success. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in a greeting video clip that the Winter Sports Expo is a milestone for Finland in this year's winter sports cooperation between China and Finland, which will continue until the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and beyond.
"We hope that all of you will use the WWSE as a platform for in-depth discussions and exchanges, extensive practical cooperation in enterprise docking, project cooperation, personnel training and winter tourism. More fruitful results will be accomplished. We also hope that the WWSE Organizing Committee will further innovate the organization and operation of the WWSE, working with relevant parties at home and abroad to continuously upgrade the professional, international and popular levels of the WWSE. The concept is to make the WWSE better and better. In doing this, we will make new and greater contributions to the better quality development of the ice and snow sports and the ice and snow industry, and for sure we will hold a splendid, remarkable Olympic Games event," said Zhang Jiandong, vice mayor of Beijing and executive vice chairman of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The opening ceremony and main forum on the morning of the 17th was presided over by Liu Jingmin, Executive Vice President of Beijing Olympic City Development Association, while keynote speeches were delivered by Hanna Kosonen, Finnish Minister of Education and Science, Jan Dikema, President of the International Skating Union, and Kate Caithness, President of the World Curling Federation. Key guests, such as Sarah Lewis, Secretary-General of the International Skiing Federation and member of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 Coordinating Committee, Tong Lixin, Minister of Sports for Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Pedersen, Norwegian Ambassador to China, De Marie, Minister Counsellor of the Italian Embassy in China, Su Xiaoyue, Commercial Counsellor of the Finnish Embassy in China and Head of the East Asia Region of the Finnish National Bureau of Business Promotion, had a round-table dialogue with the theme on "Unite the power of ice and Snow, Let the world resonate".
In the afternoon, keynote speeches were delivered by Yu Bo, deputy secretary and governor of Yanqing District of Beijing Municipality; Wang Tingkai, secretary of Jilin Provincial CPC Committee; Li Chunlin, mayor of Yulin City of Shaanxi Province; Li Hong, deputy mayor of Zhangjiakou City of Hebei Province; Chen Zhe, director of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau; Michael Mayr, sales director of Italy TechnoAlpin Group. Zhang Li, vice president of IDG China, released the China the Ice and Snow Industry development research report. Cao Wenzhong, vice president of China Economic Information Service of Xinhua News Agency, delivered a speech at the launch of Changbai Mountain Index - Chinese Ice and Snow Tourism Index (2019)", and released a report together with the leaders attending the conference. Wei Silong, senior researcher of cultural tourism in Xinhua Index Division of China Economic Information Service, gave a keynote speech. Zhao Yinggang, deputy director of the Sustainable Development Committee of the Winter Olympic Organizing Committee and president of the China Sled Association, had a dialogue with Antoine Deneriaz, champion of men's downhill at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games and CEO of SAS DÉNÉRIAZ, Tanja Poutiainen-Rinne, Finnish Olympic Committee member and runner-up of the women's alpine giant slalom in Turin Olympics 2006, Tong Jian, world champion of figure skating and ceo of Xiangyi Ice and Snow, and Wang Bingyu, world champion of curling.
During the four-day ice and snow banquet, the WWSE will cover the ice and snow industry chain in a multi-level and platform-wide manner. Through exhibitions, main forums, parallel forums, industrial exchanges and special events, the development path of winter sports in China is explored in bids to push forward the development of the Chinese ice and snow industry.
Pool together the international resources for the world's first ice and snow expo
The WWSE is held not only to fulfill the promise of hosting the Winter Olympic Games, but also an important measure to carry forward the Olympic spirit and help Beijing prepare for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games. The WWSE 2019 is the first exhibition of ice and snow in the world. The Expo, covering an area of 30,000 square meters, includes more than 20 parallel forums and ancillary activities. It has attracted 20 powers of ice and snow such as Finland, Austria and Italy as well as more than 600 brands from different countries and regions. More than 240 authoritative guests from various fields have conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges on the latest experience and achievements of global ice and snow industry and the development of winter sports in China. The Expo is expected to attract up to 160,000 visitors.
The Expo has more than 10 thematic areas, including the Olympic theme exhibition area, national athletes group, winter and alpine technology, indoor ice and snow technology, outdoor and personal equipment, winter tourist destinations, provincial and municipal groups and winter sports culture, ice and snow incubation, ice and snow entering the campus, media exhibition area, public ice and snow carnival. A systematic display is given of the world's cutting-edge equipment and equipment, ice and snow technology, winter sports tourism, winter sports education and other industrial achievements.
In the Olympic theme exhibition area, the booth of the 2022 Beijing Organizing Committee for the Winter Olympic Games shows visitors the rich contents inclusive of the progress of preparations for the Winter Games, the distribution of competition areas and venue planning, the sports events and competition knowledge of the Winter Olympic Games and the Paralympic Winter Games. The Chinese Olympic Committee reappears in the WWSE, bringing splendid demonstrations to the public in three aspects: the image of the Chinese Olympic Committee, preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and 300 million people participating in the ice and snow sports. The exhibition areas of Zhangjiakou, Yanqing, Shougang and Beijing Television Winter Olympics Documentary Channel show their achievements made as they are preparing for the Winter Olympics in different forms and at different angles.
In the international arena, there are delegations from Finland, Austria, Norway, France, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, Georgia, the United States, Canada and the Czech Republic. As Finland is a guest of honor for the WWSE 2019, a winter sports delegation comprising nearly 40 enterprises, sports associations, research institutions and city representatives led by the Finnish Ministry of Science and Culture, the Finnish Embassy in China and the Finnish National Business Council, showcase Finland's ice and snow expertise at the Finnish booth and Finnish Day events mainly focused on three themes: education and training, intelligent design, culture and tourism. In the domestic arena, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shijingshan, Changbai Mountain, Yulin, Altay and other provinces and cities of ice and snow highlight their development of ice and snow .
The venue of WWSE also brings together the winter sports equipment, alpine field construction, indoor ice and snow construction and representative enterprises for operations and services in the ice and snow industry. For instance, the domestic skiing industry comprehensive service provider Carving Ski have transferred snow machine, snow drifter, snow compressor into the WWSE, showing the strength of China's ice and snow national brand; Eternal Star creates an all-weather snow park in the site, launching the "mobile snow house" with a panoramic VR display of ice and snow, a real ice and snow world for the public. Eurojoy Ice and Snow Experience Area provides a real ice show, allowing the audience to experience real ice in the snow field during the Expo. In doing this, Eurojoy has stimulated the public to understand ice and snow , participate in ice and snow sports, and become the lovers of ice and snow. In addition, Secret Garden Resort, COSI Sports, Poma, Wandi, Doppel Mayl, Shengxiang Ski, Xueyilan, Nortek,TechnoAlpin, ALPINE, Decathlon, Kroceus, EasySerp, Yingjie, Hongliang Sports, Tuocheng Sports, Luckin Coffee and other well-known brands also appeared in the Expo.
Build a win-win platform for the ice and snow industry by pooling together global wisdom
After four years of development since its founding in 2016, the WWSE has acted as strong impetus as China popularizes the ice and snow movement, tpromotes the ice and snow industry to develop rapidly, and helps achieve the goal of "300 million people participating in the ice and snow campaign."
In the "Opening Ceremony for WWSE 2019 and Main Forum" and in more than 20 parallel forums, more than 240 authoritative personnel including experts and scholars from the IOC, international winter sports organizations, diplomatic envoys to China, Olympic Winter Champions and government officials of Chinese and foreign cities of ice and snow, gathered in Beijing for the first time, to discuss the development of the ice and snow industry in China, and to share their insights and advice on the development and promotion of winter sports in China.
In addition to the Opening Ceremony and Main Forum, the WWSE also offers parallel forums such as the Olympic Urban Development Forum, Finnish Day Theme Events, Ice and Snow Cultural Development Forum, Ice and Snow Entrepreneurship Competition, China Ice Hockey Development Forum, Snowfield Operation Management Forum, China Ice and Snow Talent Development Forum, Ice and Snow Tourism Development Forum, Venue Design and Construction Forum, and closed-door meetings of international think tanks of ice and snow. Opinions and suggestion are welcomed in realization of the goal of "300 million people participating in the ice and snow campaign".
Organize multiple supportive activities to show the soft power of ice and snow culture
One of the goals of the WWSE is to promote the overall progress of winter sports in China and to enhance the public's awareness and full participation. In order to better spread the culture of ice and know, the WWSE has planned a variety of supporting activities, including the international think tank of ice and snow, the Sino-Finnish Winter Sports Year Series, the research report on the ice and snow industry, the WS TOPS for the ice and snow industry, the ice and snow entrepreneurial competition, the personal equipment show for ice and snow sports, 2019 ice and snow sports industry awards, talks by ice and snow celebrities, teenager ice and snow experience and popular ice and snow carnival.
The supportive activities of this WWSE see new breakthroughs in industrial innovation. For example, "international think tank of ice and snow" exports comprehensive solutions for the development of the ice and snow industry in China, relying on the highest-level talents in the ice and snow industry and the experience, resources and contacts of the developed ice and snow countries in Europe and America. The research report on the ice and snow industry serves for closer communication and cooperation between the Chinese ice and snow industry and the international ones. As China's most influential annual appraisal of the snow and ice industry, "WS TOPS Award" gives the general public an all-round display and promotion of the frontiers and trends of ice and snow industry.Through the platform of the WWSE, the "ice and snow entrepreneurial competition" hopes to discover and incubate a number of innovative & entrepreneurial projects of ice and snow and to shape the future stars of the ice and snow industry in China. The "personal equipment show for ice and snow sports " brings together brands of ice and snow and outdoor sportswear to show the audience the latest fashions and wearable technologies of ice and snow. In this event, Yulin City organized the demonstration by dozens of brands, such as Sheep Leader, Tonghai Wool Industry, Seven Sheep, Monsel, Hongliu, Dongnaier, Qinyang, Jiuzhou Saishang Sheep and Tianyujiu Shepherd. "The 2019 Awards Appraisal Event of the Ice and Snow Sports Industry" set up three awards, "innovative products award", "top design award", "best popularity award", to deeply explore excellent products of the ice and snow sports industry. "Talks by ice and snow celebrities " includes the most popular topic of ice and snow as the development pulse of the Chinese ice and snow industry is explored and collated to give more innovative ideas and inspirations for the development. Teenager ice and snow experience aims to promote the popularity of ice and snow education among teenagers.
Popular ice and snow carnival is an ice and snow entertainment event planned for the audience, inclusive of a variety of special activities such as real snow experience, real ice rink interaction, curling experience, ski simulator and outdoor fashion show. Wherever the audience goes, they may see the visitors who watch athletes sow ski skills, enjoy ice and snow at all-weather snow parks and mobile snow houses, and interact with performers in the French Alps Exhibition Area. These interactions are innovative and full of fun and provide the perfect ice and snow experience for the audience on the spot.
Focus on industrial resources for faster development of ice and snow economy
Using the conference as the carrier, integrating resources of the global ice and snow industry, building the industrial docking platform and promoting industry innovation are the important goals that the WWSE has been striving to accomplish. The WWSE strengthens the "connection as an attribute". On the one hand, it connects high-quality resources at home and abroad, intensifies the exchange and cooperation between China and overseas powers of ice and snow and the docking to industrial resources. On the other hand, it also strengthens the internal connection, enhances the industrial connection between the southern and western regions of China and its northern regions and expands the coverage of the ice and snow industry, in hopes of bolstering the balanced development of industrial economy.
The WWSE attracts industry leaders from all segments of the global winter sports industry and intensively integrates a large number of high-quality industrial resources and capital forces. Setting up public arenas and business negotiation areas, it serves as a platform for demonstrating and communicating high-quality ice and snow projects. A series of high-level industrial exchanges and industrial docking activities have been organized, such as ice and snow resource promotion, high-quality enterprise docking, key project signing, and city exchange meeting. For this reason, the personnel of the ice and snow industry are able to share the comprehensive commercial exchange platform, in order to gain a understanding the industrial frontiers and trends and insights into market trends, to demonstrate the branding strength and to obtain the industrial resources. After four years of development, the WWSE continues to expand the depth of industrialization, from exchange, demonstration to cooperation. The Expo is committed to the actual implementation of such industrialization, as it "holds exhibitions for the industrial boom", represented by real development of the ice and snow economy.
Nowadays, the Expo has become one of the symbolic undertakings for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as it continuously improves the quality and efficiency of sports development and constantly meets the needs of the people for a better life. As the first exhibition of ice and snow in the world, the WWSE 2019 will take this opportunity to respond to the call of "300 million people participating in ice and snow campaign", use of the platform's advantages and industrial influence and correlate the resources of the winter sports industry. As an ice and snow platform integrating equipment manufacturing, industry service, ice and snow tourism, ice and snow fitness and ice and snow culture, it endeavors to advance the development of the Chinese ice and snow industry.
