It's official: the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, will travel to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Games. The Portuguese leader himself announced, Thursday January 13, that he would attend the opening ceremony , Friday February 4 at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. “ The Olympic Games are an extremely important event, one that symbolizes the role of sport in bringing people together and promoting peace, declared Antonio Guterres to the media. It is in this strict context and without any political dimension that I intend to be present at the opening – with this message that the Olympic Games must be an instrument of peace in the world.. To date, four countries have announced their decision not to send an official delegation to the Beijing Games as an illustration of a diplomatic boycott: the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Australia. Japan, Austria and New Zealand have also made it known that they will not be represented by any political leader, but without taking sides with a diplomatic boycott. The ranks of those confirmed present are still sparse. But Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his presence. He is the personal guest of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
