Beijing Olympics Special Edition: What You Need To Know As The Winter Games Begin

Plus: 12 countries that will pay athletes six-figure bonuses for winning gold

No Olympics goes off entirely without a hitch, but the Beijing Games face more challenges than most, starting with the host country.

The U.S. is leading a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics over China's human rights abuses and has been joined by countries including Canada and Denmark. Sponsors must walk a fine line, with Airbnb among the companies facing new criticism for their business dealings in China. It's also a tricky situation for NBC, with more than 2,800 hours of coverage to be broadcast or streamed.

Then, of course, there is Covid-19, which led the NHL to withdraw its players from the event. Chinese authorities have enacted strict measures as part of a Zero Covid strategy, and the result has been a year without a single Covid death—if you believe the country's data. On top of it all, an official Olympic app has been found to have security flaws that could expose users' personal information.

Here's what you need to know about these Games like no other, from Forbes' staff writers and expert contributors.

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The Dollars

How much is a gold medal worth? These 12 countries are offering their athletes six-figure cash prizes if they can ascend the Olympic podium. (In some cases, though, they'll come with a tax bill.)

Beijing was able to reduce the cost of hosting by reusing several venues from the 2008 Summer Games. In fact, the National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the Ice Ribbon, is the only major new indoor venue; here's a look at the design.

Given the travel regulations of the pandemic, most of Team USA's athletes arrived in China via a single charter flight.

China's sports marketers have spent nearly two years digesting the lessons of the pandemic to get ready for these Games, accelerating the digitalization of their businesses.

The Athletes

Figure skating favorite Nathan Chen is one of the faces of Team USA; here's how much he is making from endorsements.

Three action-sports stars have impressive business portfolios, too. Shaun White recently invested in a company aiming to reduce food waste and unveiled a flavor of beef jerky, as well as his own lifestyle brand. Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier who was born in the U.S. but is competing at her first Olympics for China, has picked up a partnership with Therabody. And reigning halfpipe champion Chloe Kim, with a new sponsor, had a "super, super exciting" opportunity to indulge her love of fashion by designing a signature outerwear line. She's one of 14 top Team USA female athletes to watch in Beijing.

The freestyle skiing and snowboarding competitions could feature a number of tricks never before seen at an Olympics: a double cork 1620, a frontside triple cork 1440 and a combination of a frontside double 1080 and backside double 1080. (Try not to get dizzy.) The athletes will just have to hope the weather holds up, but a special group of meteorologists will be around to help with the forecast.

The Last Word

“I don’t have anything to prove.”

Jamie Anderson

Jamie Anderson, a three-time Olympic medalist and the most decorated woman in X Games history, knows that snowboarding's young guns have been coming up with high-flying new tricks. But she is still the sport's queen bee, and she's not going to be that easy to dethrone. Read more on the living legend.