ABSTRACT
If the 2008 Beijing Olympics witnessed how sustainability norms were crystallized, institutionalized and fixed in material and social structures in and beyond Beijing, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics may prove the permanence of these norms over the years. On its way to becoming a more sustainable world city, Beijing has strived to improve its performance in all domains of sustainability as expressed within the Chinese concept of “ecological civilization”. As most development programs need to demonstrate how they contribute to the goals of “ecological civilization” and follow the guiding principles for implementation, so it is for Beijing 2022. As this globally important mega-city prepares for this mega-event, the process has become more open, dynamic and participatory and thus subject to influences by actors/factors from both in and far beyond Beijing. As such, the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing present major opportunities for Beijing's urban transformation and its course of “ecological civilization” development. This chapter reviews the evolution of mega-event governance from the 2008 Beijing Olympics through the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and how these changes are linked to the changing institutional contexts at national and international levels, with a particular emphasis on how sustainability norms— with focuses on environmental protection and the development of citizenship and civil society— have been taken into account in urban planning, city regeneration and societal transitions.
