The Winter Olympic Games are an international sports competition held every four years. Beijing is hosting the XXIV Olympic Winter Games. Every aspect of the Olympics is strategically planned in advance; however, last-minute changes are unavoidable and sometimes changes involve the competition schedules. 

After the opening ceremony, the games take place over 16 days. Some events, particularly team events, stretch nearly the entire two weeks. Competition events will not be moved ahead of their scheduled start time, but there may be times when it is appropriate due to a risk of unsafe or unfair competition. These issues are most often caused by the weather impacting outdoor sports. There could be a delay, interruption, postponement, anticipation or cancellation. These are five types of possible changes to the competition schedule.

Postponement or anticipation means that the event can’t start as originally planned and has to be included in a different session within the sport’s schedule. This can mean moving a session later (postponement) or bringing it forward (anticipation). 

For example, during Tokyo 2020, a men’s volleyball match lasted longer than planned, which meant that the subsequent match started with a delay. Another example from 2020 was the women’s triathlon, which started 15 minutes later than scheduled due to rain before the start of the run.

Most sports begin competition Feb 2, 2022, and end Feb 19 and 20. The opening ceremony takes place on Feb 4, and the closing ceremony is on Sunday, Feb 20. 

This year, NBC is broadcasting the Olympics. Viewers can watch the events, including the opening ceremony, at NBCOlympics.com and on the network broadcast of NBC. Other channels affiliated with NBC will also air some of the competitions, including CNBC, NBC Sports Network and the Olympic Channel. 

Nearly 3,000 athletes will compete in 15 different sports, including Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Luge, Nordic Combined, Short Track Speed Skating, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Snowboard and Speed Skating. 

There are approximately 223 athletes competing in this year’s games representing the United States. The ultimate goal of the Olympic Games is to cultivate people all around the world through sports and contribute to overall world peace.