Inside the Winter Olympics: How Engineers Built the IT Backbone for Beijing 2022

As the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics approach, the focus shifts from athletes on the field to the 16‑day "big test" faced by the venues' technical operations staff. If the physical structures are the body, the IT systems are the blood that keeps the Games alive.

Beyond concrete and steel, an invisible yet vital engineering effort—information‑technology transmission—ensures competition data can be collected, processed, and shared. This digital backbone is essential for the Olympics to function as a global cultural exchange, not just a sports event.

We visited the cloud‑top venue group in Zhangjiakou’s Chongli district and the National Ski Jumping Center in Guyangshu to see how engineers like Chen Yan, a technical operations lead, live and work. Their temporary residence, a modest housing complex, has been home for over a year, and their day starts at 6:30 am with a simple breakfast before a 7:40 am commute to catch a bus that drops them at the foot of the mountain, followed by a 40‑minute trek to the venue.

The cloud‑top venues, repurposed from a ski resort, host freestyle and snowboard events. Because they are temporary, the IT infrastructure had to be built in lockstep with the physical structures, adding considerable difficulty.

Amid ongoing construction, snow‑making machines, and pandemic‑related labor shortages, engineers manually laid cables and calibrated data‑collection devices. When a batch of equipment needed to cross a snow‑covered path, Chen Yan ingeniously turned a table into a makeshift sled.

Even simple devices like printers are critical: judges and journalists rely on printed athlete data, and any jam could delay results. For scoring events such as the U‑shaped pool, judges must sign paper forms before results become official.

Inside the technical workroom, rows of metal‑framed boxes house networking gear linked to field sensors. This IT operation controls data collection, production, transmission, and display—making it the cornerstone of the Games.

When unexpected issues arise, front‑line engineers collaborate with the Technology Operation Center (TOC), the central command located in Shougang. TOC coordinates expert teams to diagnose whether a problem is technical or procedural and to deliver rapid solutions.

Senior TOC advisor Park Jung‑yuk, who also worked on the 2006 Turin and 2008 Beijing Games, exemplifies the swift, cross‑organizational response required; she mobilizes multiple parties to resolve network outages, even when engineers must trek up a 160‑meter snow‑covered slope in sub‑zero temperatures to access equipment rooms.

These operations illustrate that the venues' IT systems are as much participants in the Olympics as the athletes, ensuring every piece of competition data flows flawlessly throughout the event.

Source: Phoenix Sports, article "Who Is Behind the Construction of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics?" by reporter Liang Zhongming.