Beijing 2022: 'Over 2bn people watched Olympic Winter Games'

Joel Barnett

The spectacular opening ceremony of Beijing 2022 was held on 5 February.Profimedia

Over 2 billion people watched the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday.

The total, 2.01 billion, was five percent higher than the total audience for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

Research conducted for the IOC found viewers watched 713 billion minutes’ worth of coverage across both linear TV and digital platforms, with more people watching the Games online than ever before.

In a statement, the IOC said: “In addition to the significant increases in digital viewing and consumption of broadcast coverage, the Olympics web and app platforms reached 68 million unique users during Beijing 2022 - more than double the reach achieved during the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018.

"Almost half of the Beijing 2022 viewers surveyed said they wanted to watch more coverage of the Olympic Games in the future. This appetite is particularly strong amongst the youth demographic."

Team GB won two medals in Beijing, a result UK Sport said was “disappointing”. The women’s curling team, led by Eve Muirhead, won gold, with the men’s team, captained by Bruce Mouat, winning silver.

Italy will host the next edition of the Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina 2026.

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