In less than six months, all Olympic roads lead to to Beijing and the mountain area of Zhangjiakou for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

The Chinese capital beat Almaty to win the hosting rights for the Games and will become the first city to fully stage both Summer and Winter Games.

They will undoubtedly be spectacular but will be played out with the backdrop of debate on the human rights record of the host nation.

The intensity of the debate on podium protests and enforcement of rule 50 of the Olympic Charter in the last two years suggests that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been particularly concerned about what might happen there.

It was the same 13 years ago when the 2008 Beijing Games were in full flight.

Days before the Games began, then IOC President Jacques Rogge insisted that there should be no demonstrations in Olympic precincts. "If we allowed the stadium or the Village to become the podium for such protests then that would be the end of Olympic harmony," Rogge said.

China had waited a long time to host the Games. They had not even competed as the People’s Republic until 1984 but soon tabled a bid for the 2000 Olympics.

The vote was held in 1993, only four years after the infamous Tiananmen Square massacre, yet they saw off the challenge of Manchester, Berlin and Istanbul and lost by only two votes to Sydney.

Beijing regrouped and tried again for 2008. This time the rival cities were Paris, Toronto, Istanbul and Osaka.

The IOC Evaluation Commission visited each city. In Beijing, it concluded that "a major opportunity exists to create a strong marketing programme which will enhance the Olympic brand".

It also noted "the overall presence of strong Governmental control and support is healthy".

The vote took place at the 2001 Session in Moscow. One of Juan Antonio Samaranch’s final acts as IOC President was to announce that Beijing had been chosen as 2008 host city by a sweeping margin.

In the intervening years, many questioned the choice.

Beijing unveiled plans for an expansive Torch Relay to visit every previous host city and other destinations.

It was billed as the "Journey of Harmony", yet before the Flame was even lit at the ceremony in Ancient Olympia, protesters unveiled a banner depicting the Olympic rings as handcuffs during the speech by Beijing 2008 Organising Committee chief Liu Qi.

It was the prelude to many disturbances. On a chilly April morning in London, protesters attempted to seize the Flame outside Wembley Stadium, setting the tone for the day. In Paris, despite the presence of RoboCop style police on roller skates, the Relay was once again truncated. In San Francisco and Canberra, there were further disturbances.

Beijing 2008 organisers drew much criticism for the blue tracksuited "Flame attendants". Even Torchbearers claimed to have been jostled.

The negative headlines across the world prompted reaction from the IOC.

"From the world of sports there has been absolutely no call for boycott whatsoever," Rogge told Reuters.

"We are in contact with the organisers of the Beijing Games on a daily basis. Every day we are in contact with them but the IOC has to deal with sports, it does not have to deal with politics."

Eventually the Flame arrived back in China and was taken to the top of Mount Everest. Even there, authorities took the precaution of closing other pathways as the climbers from Beijing made their ascent.

Where once the transport of choice had been the bicycle, the explosion of motor traffic meant that some visitors to Beijing were concerned about the air quality.

The IOC’s evaluation report seven years before had described the problem as "significant".

As many visitors arrived for the Games, they landed under murky skies.

American cyclists Bobby Lea, Sarah Hammer, Jennie Reed and Michael Friedman wore face masks as they walked through the airport.

United States Olympic Committee chief Jim Scherr suggested the quartet had been "overly overcautious", and an apology for the "offence" was forthcoming. This was in complete contrast with the norm in Tokyo these last few weeks, when not wearing masks would have been seen as unacceptable.

At the time that Beijing launched its Olympic bid, Human Rights Watch had called upon the IOC to "seek written assurances that if Beijing is selected, the international media covering the Games will have unrestricted access to the country".

In 2008, journalists discovered that it proved impossible to access the websites of banned organisations such as Falung Gong, even in designated media areas.

There were supposedly areas set aside for protest, although these were well away from any venues.

The centrepiece of the Games was a vast park known as the Olympic Green. Archery, aquatics, athletics, fencing, hockey, tennis and athletics were all within easy reach of the Olympic Village and the Main Press Centre.

There did, however, emerge dark tales of previous residents who had been forcibly evicted to make way for the Olympic installations and the living and working conditions of some construction workers were demonstrably basic at best.

The installations they built were anything but basic.

On the approaches to the stadium a seven-star hotel had even been built. The Pangu Hotel was a remarkable piece of architecture in its own right.

On the approach road, standing at roughly ten metre intervals, were individuals who did not move from their position at any time, and appeared only to have a watching brief.

At the centre of everything was the Bird's Nest, a huge stadium which was said to be earthquake-proof.

It was here that the Opening Ceremony took place. The complex incorporated a gigantic basement from which stunning special effects came one after the other.

A total of 2008 drummers beat out a rhythm in unison to herald the start, and the tumultuous history of China was related in a vivid tableau which saw representations of Chinese script and the emergence of the silk road. Giant LED lights portrayed the Olympic rings which rose into the air.

Later Lang Lang gave a virtuoso performance on the piano. Then A huge globe decorated with pictures of children’s faces from around the world emerged from beneath the stage as Sarah Brightman sang You and Me, the official song of the Games.

Then came the grand finale as Li Ning, triple gold medal winning gymnast from the Los Angeles 1984 Games, soared through the air on a trapeze to ignite the cauldron which burned high above the stadium. It was a moment of breathtaking theatre and set the seal on surely the greatest Olympic Opening Ceremony anyone had ever seen. Only the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics has even come close.

In the days which followed, much of the sport was equally magnificent.

The swimming finals, held in the mornings, were dominated by the peerless Michael Phelps, who won an astonishing eight gold medals in the truly fitting setting of the Water Cube.

When the athletics began, there was also morning drama in the heats of the 110 metres hurdles. China’s World and Olympic champion Liu Xiang limped away with a recurrence of a heel injury. In a media conference which followed his coach, Sun Haiping, broke down in tears.

"No matter what they did nothing could help." Sun sobbed.

On an unforgettable night at the stadium, Usain Bolt broke his own 100m world record to win in 9.69sec. There came another world record to win the 200m, this time eclipsing the mark set by Michael Johnson. He won a third gold in the 4x100m but this was expunged years later when a team mate tested positive.

On the penultimate day in 2008, a man who has been centre stage this week in Paris, was also at the heart of things in Beijing. Lionel Messi helped Argentina to victory over Nigeria in men’s Olympic football.

Before the 2008 tournament there had been a legal action from Barcelona attempting to prevent him from taking part. German club Schalke took similar action to try and stop Brazilian Rafinha from participating and Werder Bremen objected to Diego’s presence. Ultimately, all three did take part but the incident brought unwanted headlines.

The Games came to an end with another flawless Ceremony at which Rogge declared the Games closed.

"The world has learned about China, and China has learned about the world, and I believe this is something that will have positive effects for the long term," Rogge said.

Enjoying such a contact may prove almost impossible next February, especially if the speculation over the even more intense precautions planned against the virus should prove accurate.