World Winter Sports Beijing Expo 2017: Gearing up for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Building up an "Ice and Snow Power"

BEIJING, Sept. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Winter Sports Beijing Expo 2017 ("WWSE") successfully opened at the China National Convention Center in Beijing on September 7th. It was co-organized by the Beijing Olympic City Development Association (BODA) and International Data Group (IDG), produced by the Beijing Olympic City Development Center and IDG World Expo China Co., Ltd., supported by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and also coordinated by a wide variety of Chinese and foreign partners. WWSE was initiated for several reasons - in order to promote the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, to lead the way of China's winter sports industry, to achieve the goal of "engaging 300 million people on ice and snow", and to build China into an "ice and snow power".

The theme for WWSE 2017 was "Leading the Way" (http://www.wwse2022.com). The "Guest Country of Honor" for the Expo was introduced starting from this year. Switzerland became the very first "Guest Country of Honor" at WWSE. The Guest Country of Honor was issued in order to promote full cooperation and mutual development of global ice and snow resources and the Chinese market. The Expo itself provided over 22,000㎡ of the exhibition area and attracted over 400 Chinese and foreign brands, more than 9,000 channeling providers, and a total of 125,000 visitors during the exposition. Over 200 professional elite guests from home and abroad were present at the summit forums to exchange their views on China's ice and snow industry and for the new trends of winter sports.

Mr. Chen Jining (Deputy Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, Acting Mayor, Executive President of Beijing Winter Olympic Games Organizing Committee), Mr. Gao Zhidan (Deputy Director of State General Administration of Sport of China and Vice President of China Olympic Committee), Mr. Zhang Jiandong (Vice Mayor of Beijing, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and Vice Chairman of Beijing Olympic City Development Association), Mr. Yu Zaiqing (Vice President of IOC), H.E. Jean-Jaques de Dardel (Ambassador of Switzerland to the People's Republic of China) attended the opening ceremony. The ceremony also received messages of congratulation from Mr. Thomas Bach, current President of the International Olympic Committee, for a successful beginning of the second WWSE and a bright prospect for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and China's winter sports industry.

The Expo, Ms. Jennifer Xu, Vice President of IDG Asia, said "would strengthen closer cooperation between China's governmental organizations and foreign countries as well as industry organizations of the countries. It would also focus on areas of Olympic City development, youth training, and business innovation in order to present an all-around, high-speed, and healthy growth for the industry."

BUILDING AN "ICE AND SNOW POWER" TO GEAR UP FOR THE BEIJING 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

As one of the world's largest and most prestigious winter sports expositions, WWSE went all out for the preparation of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games - a golden era for China's winter sports industry. Chinese guests who were present at the main conference in WWSE included Mr. Jiang Xiaoyu (Vice Chairman of Beijing Olympic City Development Association, BODA), Ms. Yang Yang (Member of the International Olympic Committee, IOC), Mr. Hugo Shong (Global Chairman of IDG Capital), and other prestigious personnels of different industries. Foreign guests including Mr. Jan Dijkema (Resident of the International Skating Union, ISU), Mr. Anders Besseberg (President of the International Biathlon Union, IBU), Ms. Sarah Lewis (Secretary General of the International Ski Federation, ISF), Mr. Mattis Raustøl (Charge d'Affaires a.i of Royal Norwegian Embassy in the People's Republic of China), and H.E. Heinz Fischer (former President of the Republic of Austria and President of the Austrian Association for Promotion of Friendship and Cultural Relations with China) all attended the main conference.

Mr. Hugo Shong, Global Chairman of IDG Capital, shared his insight about WWSE 2017. The Expo, he said, "would lead the way in making China's winter sports industry more global, establishing balanced and coordinated growth, and popularizing winter sports in China through introducing to the Chinese market world-class winter sports products, technologies, management experience and services, and integrating resources with the strongest advantages of the industry."

HIGHLIGHTS IN NINE SECTIONS AND FAMOUS BRANDS DISPLAYED IN THE EXPO

The WWSE 2017 consisted of a total of nine different sections, including the Winter Olympic Games, National Pavilions, Winter Travel Destinations, Machinery & Equipment, Winter Sports Games and Culture, Introduction of Winter Sports to Schools, Winter Garments and Accessories, a Real Ice Arena and Interactive Zone, and finally an Internet + Sports section. Preparation progress for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games was also presented in the Expo by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and by the Yanqing District of Beijing. Countries and international organizations such as Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Austria, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Russia and the International Ski Federation displayed their top winter sports providers, ski resorts, agencies and training systems. The Expo was also a showcase for winter traveling destinations such as Schilthorn and St. Moritz of Switzerland, Gangwondo of the Republic of Korea and Hokkaido of Japan as well as famous winter brands including AST, Doppelmayr, MND, BMF, Bombardier, Yamaha, JACK WOLFSKIN, Mammut, Wentou Sports, and Club Med.

In addition, the Expo also provided the audience with a real ice arena and snow slope, offered curling demonstrations, and introduced VR systems for winter sports, intelligent sports equipment, and mobile Apps. In the new section of "Introducing Winter Sports to Schools", teaching winter sports and ice-snow sports training were exhibited so as to encourage kids to get interested in learning to play the sports.

ELITES GATHER AT THE SNOW & ICE FORUM FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

Apart from the main conference, WWSE 2017 also held over 20 parallel forums and special events and went deeper into the winter sports industry. Most specifically The Expo held the Olympic City Development Forum to discuss the construction experience of Olympic cities across the globe and specifically Beijing's path towards sustainable development as a city that has experience in both summer and winter Olympics. Besides this, IDG Sports also joined hands with a number of investment institutions to present Winter Sports Entrepreneurship Competition, hoping to discover promising talents for the future of winter sports. The "Winter Sports onto Campuses" forum was aimed to popularize winter sports among kids.

A series of sub-forums and special events were also held to get a clear overview of China's winter sports development and to discuss the status quo of the industry. Forums held were as follows: Ice Rink Operation and Management Forum, Ski Resort Operation and Management Forum, Winter Sports Entertainment Forum, Winter Sports Technology Innovation Forum, Winter Sports Training and Development Forum, Winter Sports Marketing Forum, Winter Sports Tourism Forum, etc. Special events included the Swiss Activity Week, Finnish National Tourism Forum, Finnish National Education Forum, Suomi 100 Natural Building Summit, Sino-Norwegian Economic Development Forum, and others.

Backed by the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, WWSE integrated industrial resources and facilitated the popularization and cultural promotion of mass winter sports by learning from the advanced development experience of other countries. This is significant for driving innovation and development of China's winter sports industry and making it strongly competitive in sports and winter sports in particular.

About WWSE

Co-organized by Beijing Olympic City Development Association (BODA) and International Data Group (IDG), World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo is a premium international exposition focusing specifically on winter sports. It aims to help the Chinese to know more about winter sports and to promote the project of "engaging 300 million people onice and snow". The World Winter Sports Beijing Expo has been held annually since 2016 in Beijing, China. It is on course to become the largest and world's most leading exposition of winter sports. As a professional and national-level exhibition, WWSE has won over support and cooperation from the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and federations of seven winter Olympic sports. It will support the preparation for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, promote the comprehensive development of sports in China, and help usher in a promising future of the booming winter sports industry in China. For more information, please visit the official website at http://wwse2022.com.

About IDG

International Data Group is the world's largest firm of information technology publishing, research, exhibition and venture capital. IDG Group was founded in 1964 and headquarters in Boston, USA. There are currently 13,270 senior research experts and editorial staff working in subsidiaries and branch offices in 90 countries and regions around the world. They have built a fast and comprehensive global information network using modern information processing and delivery methods such as e-mail, database, telex and online services. IDG entered the Chinese market as early as 1979, and set up IDG China Investment Company, China's first Sino-US joint venture, with its main businesses covering media cooperation, market research, venture capital, and exhibitions and meetings. Over the past 33 years, IDG's compound annual growth rate in China has reached 50%, ranking first around the world. For more information, please visit the official website at www.idg.com.cn.

SOURCE IDG China