Olympic flame arrives in Beijing

Cai Qi, Communist Party Secretary, lights the cauldron during the Olympic flame welcoming ceremony ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

The Olympic flame arrived here on Wednesday amid calls from overseas critics for a boycott of the February 4-20 Winter Games.

Communist Party secretary Cai Qi, the top official in the Chinese capital, received the flame at a closely-guarded airport ceremony.

Beijing is the first city to be awarded hosting rights to both the Summer and Winter Games, largely as a result of the reluctance of European and North American cities to bid for the 2022 edition.

At Wednesday’s flame handover ceremony, Beijing Deputy Mayor Zhang Jiandong said the City was committed to holding a “simple, safe and an excellent Games”.

The flame will be placed on display over the next few months, with a three-day relay scheduled to start on Feb. 2 involving around 1,200 torchbearers in Beijing, suburban Yanqing and Zhangjiakou in neighboring Hebei province where ski jumping and other outdoor events will be held.