Tycoons and celebrities flock to World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo 2020 as forums are held to discuss new trend of ice and snow industry

BEIJING, Sept. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- From September 5 to 9, the World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo 2020 ("WWSE"), co-sponsored by the Beijing Olympic City Development Association and the International Data Group, was held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. This edition of WWSE continued to be themed on the "Power of Ice and Snow", for the purpose of "Connecting with international winter sports resources to urge the development of China's ice and snow industry". In addition to a rich combination of exhibition areas and shows, industrial connections and relevant activities, some 20 high-caliber forums and promotions were conducted, when nearly 200 guests from 20 countries came to have deep discussions and exchanges in terms of the trend of world winter sports industry, the preparations and construction for the Winter Olympics, Ice and Snow Popularization for Teenagers and other important topics.

On the afternoon of September 5, at the Grand Ballroom C on the first floor of the China National Convention Center, Mr. Liu Jingmin, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, presided over the Opening Ceremony and Main Conference of the 2020 World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo and extended a warm welcome to the Chinese and foreign guests attending the conference. Mr. Li Yingchuan, Deputy Director General and member of the Party Leadership Group of the General Administration of Sport of China, Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Mr. Zhang Jiandong, Vice Mayor of Beijing, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vice President of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, Dr. Friedrich Stift, Austrian Ambassador to China and other guests attended the conference and delivered important speeches; Mr. Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee and other guests sent their blessings, and brought messages and speeches in videos. In addition, a number of distinguished guests from home and abroad also held a round-table dialogue on the current situation and trends of the world ice and snow industry, with the theme of "Ways to Develop the Ice and Snow Industry".

The Opening Ceremony and Main Conference of the World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo 2020

The main conference lasted till the morning of September 6. At the same time, many parallel forums and promotions were conducted from June 6 to 7, when government leaders, industry experts and elites from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Olympic Winter Sports Federations, the United Nations and the major winter sports powers had interactions and exchanges of ideas in the fields of the Winter Olympics science and technology, the Olympic city development, ice and snow equipment, winter sports talent development, ski resorts operation and management, venue design and construction, ice and snow tourism and so on.

The convening of WWSE is not only a solemn commitment made by Beijing to the international community when bidding for the 2020 Beijing Olympics; it is more of an important measure intended to promote the Olympic spirit and facilitate the preparation and organization of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing. The year 2020 happened to be the 5^th anniversary for the WWSE. As an exchange and development platform for the global ice and snow industry, this edition of WWSE set two modules, the "Olympic City Development Forum" and the "Winter Olympics Science and Technology Forum", in order to fully showcase the latest preparatory achievements for the Beijing Winter Olympics, to discuss the opportunities and urban development at home and abroad, and to facilitate the construction of the high-tech Winter Olympics. In the "Olympic City Development Forum", a lot of government and organization officials, Olympic city officials, Winter Olympics planners, designers, and operation management experts of Winter Olympics from home and abroad, participated in summit dialogues and exchanges from a multitude of dimensions, such as the Winter Olympics opportunities and urban development, the city planning and post-game venue utilization, and international cooperation and exchanges in the Winter Olympics, bringing valuable references for the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics. At the "Winter Olympics Science and Technology Forum", guests gave suggestions on scientific competitions, sports training and competitions, safety assurance, smart watching, and comprehensive demonstration of green wisdom and other aspects. In that case, global emerging ice and snow technologies and concepts are integrated so that technological innovation is able to facilitate the preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Winter Olympics Science and Technology Forum

Youths are the major force of China's ice and snow sports. The key of building a major power of sports lies in the cultivation of youths' interest and love for ice and snow sports, and the better popularization and development of such sports. This edition of WWSE set the "Winter Sports Talent Development Forum" and the "Forum on Ice and Snow Popularization for Teenagers", with a view to popularizing the Winter Sports Talent Development on a full scale, spreading the ice and snow culture and growing more talents of ice and snow. In the "Winter Sports Talent Development Forum", leaders of the General Administration of Sport of China, presidents of sports colleges and universities, ski resort operators and high-end talents jointly discussed the solution for cultivating Chinese talents of winter sports. In the "Forum on Ice and Snow Popularization for Teenagers", Chinese and foreign youth training experts discussed the difficulties encountered in the popularization among Chinese teenagers, in bids to find a distinctive path suitable for the development of Chinese ice and snow sports.

Winter Sports Talent Development Forum

The upcoming Winter Olympics gives huge thrust to the development of winter ice and snow sports, while the ice & snow tourism has become the main means of popularizing the public ice and snow sports. On the afternoon of September 7, the "International Ice & Snow Tourism Development Forum" was held, when the important political leaders of major powers of ice and snow, and leaders and tourism practitioners of Chinese regions with rich ice & snow resources expressed their respective views on "how to activate the tourism market in the post-epidemic era" and the "developmental trend of ice & snow tourism".

International Ice & Snow Tourism Development Forum

The fast-developing ice and snow sports in China make the design and operation of sports venues a hot topic in the ice and snow sector. In the "Venue Design and Construction Forum", quite a few industry elites came in person and proposed some new measures for the design and operation of venues in the new environment, thereby working out an all-inclusive blueprint for the development of the industry.

Venue Design and Construction Forum

As the Winter Olympics enters "the Beijing Cycle", the Chinese skiing industry is embracing a period of rapid growth. The crucial role of ski resorts and facilities has increasingly loomed up. In order to respond to the changes brought about by the rapid development, the WWSE held a parallel forum called "Ski Resorts Operation and Management Forum" on the afternoon of September 7, when globally first-class operators got together to share their opinions and exchange their experience. With the market at core, these operators have been revolutionizing the operation philosophy to bring more insights for those working for the ice and snow industry.

Ski Resorts Operation and Management Forum

Besides, another highlight of this edition of WWSE is the "Cloud Live Broadcast". Nearly 20 conferences and promotions could be directly viewed at the Cloud WWSE, the WeChat public account and the online CIFTIS platform and other cloud platforms. In that case, it was indeed convenient for visitors to have a real-time understanding of the frontier information, expert viewpoints and to have in-depth discussions of the issues existing in the ice and snow industry.

Unlike previous years, this WWSE was first held together with the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in the form of a special exhibition of the CIFTIS, opening a new chapter in the development of the WWSE. As one of China's three exhibition platforms for opening up, CIFTIS has become the world's first general exhibition for trade in services. The merger of the WWSE and the CIFTIS has achieved the effective integration of two world-class brand exhibition resources, providing a tremendous opportunity for the international development of China's ice and snow industry. For more information about WWSE, please visit http://www.wwse2022.com/ or follow the WeChat public account "World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo".

SOURCE IDG World Expo