Winter Olympics 2022: Everything you need to know about Beijing Games

It might feel like the Summer Olymipcs just ended, but the Winter Games are already just around the corner.

The 2022 Beijing Olympics are quickly approaching, and they'll be the third consecutive Games to be held in Asia, following the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and the Tokyo Games, which were postponed from 2020 to 2021 because of COVID-19.

As another edition of the Olympics nears, here's everything you need to know about when and where the Beijing Games will take place, the COVID-19 protocols that will be in place and when you'll be able to watch Chloe Kim, Mikaela Shiffrin and the rest of Team USA compete for gold.

When do the Winter Olympics start?

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Games is slated for Feb. 4, less than six months after the closing ceremony of the Summer Games in Tokyo.

It will be the first time in three decades that the Summer and Winter Olympics will occur less than a year apart. The two events used to be held in the same calendar year but have taken place in alternate even-numbered years since 1994.

The closing ceremony for the Beijing Games will take place on Feb. 20. And the Winter Paralympics will begin shortly thereafter, running from March 4 to March 13.

Where are the 2022 Winter Olympics being held?

Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Winter Games in a tight race over Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Oslo, Norway, was the other finalist but withdrew its bid because of a lack of public support.)

While Beijing will have its name on the event, the Games venues will be spread across three distinct areas.

Events like curling, figure skating, ice hockey and speed skating will take place in the city center, including at several venues that were used when the city hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. Sliding sports and alpine skiing will be held about an hour northwest of the city, in the district of Yanqing. And the remaining sports, including snowboarding, will take place in the neighboring city of Zhangjiakou, which is an hour farther in the same direction.

What is the Olympics schedule?

While the opening ceremony is Feb. 4, preliminary competition will begin in some sports two days earlier.

In one of the premier winter sports, figure skating, medals will be up for grabs once every three days on average for almost the duration of the Games, from Feb. 7 to Feb. 19.

Meanwhile, Mikaela Shiffrin will likely have her first shot at a medal Feb. 7, in women's giant slalom. The snowboarding halfpipe finals are slated for Feb. 10 (women) and Feb. 11 (men). And the gold-medal games in women's and men's hockey will take place Feb. 17 and Feb. 20, respectively.

How can I watch the Olympics?

For U.S. viewers, the Beijing Games will once again be televised on NBC and its platforms. The network has exclusive rights to broadcast every iteration of the Games through 2032, as part of a $7.75 billion deal it signed with the International Olympic Committee in 2014.

If its broadcast of the Tokyo Games is any indication, NBC likely will put some of its coverage on Peacock – its new streaming service – in addition to its various TV channels.

Will there be fans at the Olympics?

It appears so, but none from outside mainland China.

The IOC revealed in late September that Beijing organizers planned to prohibit international spectators, including the family and friends of athletes, from attending the Winter Games but that they would sell tickets to Chinese fans who met certain conditions and complied with COVID-19 protocols.

Organizers did not immediately announce how many fans, or what percentage capacity, would be permitted to watch the events at various venues.

What COVID-19 protocols will be in place?

In addition to the ban on foreign spectators, Beijing organizers have pledged to create a "closed-loop" system for everyone who travels to China for the Games. This means everyone from athletes and coaches to media and referees/judges will be housed in a strict bubble, separate from the rest of China, and permitted only to move within that bubble.

Organizers have also all but mandated vaccination at the Winter Olympics. While unvaccinated people will technically be allowed to enter the "closed-loop" bubble, Beijing 2022 has indicated that they will have to quarantine in China for 21 days before doing so – a duration of time that would seriously complicate athletes' training regimens, for instance, and likely be a non-starter.

That rule won't be an issue for Team USA, mind you. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced in September that it would require all athletes, coaches and staff to be vaccinated before the Games.