The winter Olympics are less than two months away- starting on February 4^th and continuing until the 20^th. This year they will be hosted in Beijing, China.

However, recently the U.S has declared a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympic games, followed by other countries. This boycott is aimed more towards politics and the alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. Beijing has strongly denied these accusations. U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims no ministers will attend the games due to this issue, and no government officials from the US will attend either. Jen Psaki, the white house Press Secretary, made this statement by claiming it would be inappropriate due to “genocide and crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang. This boycott will not prevent athletes from participating, although many are stepping down and claiming they will not attend.

From another perspective, some have argued that boycotting the games just punishes the athletes. Some believe that these politics should not be involved in the games, and that the athletes should be able to freely participate. Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the US Olympics and paralympic committee, wrote in a letter about the 1980 boycott of the games that it “had no impact on the global politics and only harmed the countries boycotting”.

These tensions can only be expected to escalate in the coming weeks, and there is no telling what will happen. The games are expected to continue, but with a strong media presence and awareness, things could change.