On Wednesday, 29 Sept., the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that spectators from mainland China who meet the COVID-19 guidelines will be able to attend the Olympic and Paralympic 2022 Beijing Winter Games [1]. With this new announcement, it is clear that no spectators outside of mainland China will be allowed to view the Games. The Olympic Winter Games will begin on 4 Feb., 2022. Subsequently, the Paralympic Winter Games will begin on 4 March, 2022.

This is a stark contrast from the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, as spectators were not allowed in Tokyo. However, a limited number of spectators [2] were allowed at events held outside of Tokyo.

While the specifics of the COVID-19 guidelines for spectators are still unannounced, the Playbooks for Beijing 2022 are expected to be released in late October, followed by a second, published version in December.