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Articles on Winter olympics

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Some resorts have launched diversity efforts to try to appeal to a wider community. Johannes Kroemer via Getty Images

Rising costs of climate change threaten to make skiing a less diverse, even more exclusive sport

As temperatures warm, ski and snowboard resorts are investing more in snowmaking and seeing their seasons shrink. Those costs roll down to customers in an already expensive sport.
Fans cheer during the women’s snowboard slopestyle final at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Why do we like watching the Olympics so much?

From projecting onto athletes to aesthetic appreciation, spectators get a surprising amount out of watching other people play sports.
The alpine skiing course at the 2022 Winter Olympics, on Feb. 2, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. All the snow at this year’s Olympic venues is machine-made. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Beijing’s scant snow offers a glimpse at the uncertainty — and risks — of future Winter Olympics

An analysis of 21 former Winter Olympic venues found that only one of them would be suitable and offer safe racing conditions for athletes if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.
The International Olympic Committee has a demonstrated history of controlling athletes’ public statements, despite claiming that athletes are free to express their opinions in press conferences, in media interviews and on social media. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Silence is golden? Olympic athletes’ freedom of speech muted by Games organizers

Can the Olympic industry survive the damage that calls for a Winter Olympics boycott are doing to its brand?
A woman poses for a photo with a statue of the Winter Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen near the Olympic Green in Beijing on Jan. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Get caught up in the Olympic spirit, but keep your (political) eyes wide open

The Olympics, and all “mega sports,” are inevitably embedded in the political contexts of their times. To dismiss or bypass the political issues that arise seems naïve at best.
Children wave national flags and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games flags during a welcome ceremony for the Frame of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in October, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games could bring Huseyin Celil home

Olympians and Paralympians can uplift the voices of Celil’s family and supporters by calling for his release over the next four months. Academics, journalists and activists should join in solidarity.
Calgarians have voted against a proposal to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Here a young girl learns to skate at the Calgary Olympic Plaza, built for the 1988 Games. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Why Calgary is no longer an Olympic city

Calgary is the latest city to reject bidding for the Olympics. A lack of a vision for the city and a council concerned with short-term political gains explain why an Olympic plebiscite was defeated.

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