Episode description
Every day, the Europe 1 morning shows one of the sporting events that is making the news. This Wednesday, she is interested in the Beijing Olympic Games which will open in 15 days. According to her, they will look like a science fiction film.
The Beijing Winter Olympics start in 15 days now. We know a little more about how they will unfold, with still a lot of uncertainty nonetheless. You compare these games to a science fiction movie.
Beijing 2022 is going to be a mix of Blade Runner and 2001 Space Odyssey. You know the pitch of the film. A mysterious virus called Covid and its variants pose a serious threat to the Olympic Games. How will the athletes cope? That’s almost it. Don’t look for extras in this blockbuster, there won’t be any. No ticket sales for the general public, we learned on Monday. So behind closed doors or not? The Chinese are remaining vague for the moment. There needs to be some suspense. But there will undoubtedly still be guests. Schoolchildren, like in Tokyo? Maybe. But we also talk about dignitaries of the Chinese Communist Party. It’s not Hollywood, it’s Beijing.
Athletes have been arriving little by little in the Chinese capital for several days now. And they arrive in an end-of-the-world atmosphere. An empty airport, as if abandoned. The only people they meet are dressed in anti-bacteriological outfits. We’re not kidding with the strict health bubble in Beijing. And that athletes do not seek human warmth during their meals in the canteen. These are robots that will deliver their trays to them from the ceiling to limit risks as much as possible. In addition to disinfection robots. I advise you to leave a small light on when you watch the games in the early morning, it can be a scary sight.
For athletes, it is a real source of stress.
An atmosphere of apocalypse for the Olympic Games, obviously it’s hard to live with. Even if many take their side: if it can guarantee that the competition will take place… Here, we are 15 days from the opening ceremony, and the pressure will increase a notch. That is to say, from now on, two lines on the self-test and you stay at home. Some athletes have also given up competitions to avoid any risk of contamination, like the French skaters Papadakis Cizeron, absent from the European championships. Their goal this year is the Olympics, they don’t want to ruin everything beforehand. But most chose to do their season anyway, you have to prepare well before the games. This means that they are stressed all the time, they cannot help but look suspiciously in their hotels open to all tourists on the ski world cup circuit for example. It’s exhausting. With the little phrase “zero risk does not exist” running through their heads.
We can send strength to the French delegation because the athletes are still experiencing a timeless moment between suspense and anguish.
