The award also put in place the last of three consecutive Olympics taking place in East Asia following the allotting of the 2018 Winter Games to Pyeongchang in South Korea and the 2020 Summer Games to Tokyo.

Whether Beijing - which will on Thursday (February 4) mark one year to go until its Games - will indeed be the third East Asian host of an Olympics in this period remains moot.

Speculation continues to swirl during the COVID-19 pandemic over whether Tokyo will be able to stage the Games it should have hosted last year and which has been postponed to this summer, with the Opening Ceremony due for July 23.

Last Wednesday (January 27), IOC President Thomas Bach insisted the IOC and Tokyo 2020 were "fully concentrated and committed to the successful and safe delivery" of the Games, adding that suggestions they would not go ahead were "hurting athletes".

A report by British newspaper The Times earlier this month had said the Japanese Government had privately decided Tokyo 2020 would have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.

The story, based on an unidentified Government source, was swiftly denied by the Japanese authorities and the IOC, but it sparked concern among athletes and other officials over the fate of the Olympics amid a surge in COVID-19 cases across the world.

Bach added: "We are not speculating whether the Games are taking place, we are working on how they will take place."

Meanwhile the first of a series of "playbooks" being devised to ensure the Olympics and Paralympics can take place safely during the pandemic - which outline areas including testing, quarantine measures and vaccines - is due to be published this week.

Last Monday (January 25), Bach and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on preparations for Beijing 2022 on a telephone call.

According to the IOC, COVID-19 measures set to be in place at Beijing 2022 and Xi's recent visit to venues due to be used at the Games were among the topics discussed.

The IOC revealed Xi and Bach "discussed the close cooperation between the IOC and Chinese authorities with regard to health matters and the measures already being taken to ensure safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2022".

Xi "informed President Bach about the strengthened health measures the Chinese authorities are currently also taking with regard to the organisation of sports events," the IOC added.

László Vajda, a senior expert who has worked for the Beijing 2022 Organising Committee for the last four years, told insidethegames that the measures eventually employed for Tokyo 2020 would be hugely significant for the staging of the next Winter Games.

"We are following very closely what is happening in Japan with the Tokyo 2020 Games," he said. "We are watching all the plans and trials they have done recently with sports events.

"I wouldn’t contemplate today what measures we might or might not introduce because we will have to see how Tokyo unfolds - what works there, what may work, what may not work, what kind of approach not just Tokyo 2020 but the IOC will be taking in terms of spectator attendance and athletes’ length of stay.

"Within Beijing 2022 we are following our timeline, and obviously there is very meticulous planning going on at the same time for various scenarios."

Vajda added: "In general, we as an Organising Committee are going ahead full speed, on schedule. I don’t see anywhere any aspect of our planning or delivery that might create any question or any doubt.

"But obviously nobody knows today how the next few months will unfold.

"We know that vaccination is happening, it’s accelerating globally, and that’s another very important factor, to see how that actually impacts the virus in the next few months.

"We have huge human resources and we are very confident of our capacity.

"So we are all going ahead, and there is a degree of optimism that Tokyo will happen and we will happen as scheduled."

The statement from the IOC following the meeting of Bach and Xi made no mention of whether the alleged human rights abuses allegedly being committed by China and calls for the organisation to strip Beijing of the Olympics were discussed.

China's clampdown in Hong Kong and the alleged mass internment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang has been the subject of growing criticism across the world.

Human rights groups and politicians are among those to have urged the IOC to move the event from Beijing amid the alleged mistreatment of its own citizens, while others have claimed the Games in the Chinese capital should be boycotted.

Meanwhile, campaign groups fighting against the persecution of Uighur Muslims in China have joined forces to pressure sponsors to withdraw their support of Beijing 2022.

On January 22 insidethegames reported on how groups from 10 different countries have joined the "End the Uighur Genocide Movement" and set their sights on Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky.

The group is aiming to get Airbnb to withdraw its sponsorship from Beijing 2022 and has asked Chesky to meet virtually with campaigners, including those who have been detained in the alleged internment camps in China.

A digital campaign is also to be launched, which will compare photos of the accommodation normally found on Airbnb and the rooms given to Uighur Muslims in the detention camps.

The aim of the campaign - set to be launched in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Japan and Australia - is to persuade the Beijing 2022 sponsors they may pay a commercial price if they are associated with the next edition of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

"All over the world, campaigners, politicians and celebrities are waking up to the horror of what is going on," the "End the Uighur Genocide Movement" letter to Chesky said.

"There is now a real risk that that Airbnb’s brand will be stained by your association with the Genocide Games."

Airbnb became the 14th member of The Olympic Partner (TOP) programme when it signed a nine-year deal in 2019.

Asked about the view inside the Beijing 2022 Organising Committee on this issue, Vajda responded: "I think there is an awareness of these issues.

"Obviously news outlets are available and people here are generally aware of these initiatives that have been taken. I would say that there is a very strong stance for China responding to all this.

"But we as an Organising Committee obviously try to stay away from all these political events or comments, because our mandate is to plan and deliver the Games. And that is something that we will definitely do, so we are concentrating on our mandate rather than being distracted by anything else.

"This is something for the Chinese Government to manage and handle."

Beijing 2022 organisers have already come through considerable criticism that was attached to them during the bid process when it was cited that the proposed outdoor venue sites do not have reliable snowfall in winter for snow sports.

Concerns were raised that snow may need to be transported to the venues at great cost and with uncertain environmental consequences.

The environmental impact of hosting the Games near Beijing has also been questioned. Some of the proposed venues will be adjacent to the Beijing Songshan National Nature Reserve and part of the same mountain system, and the environmental impact on the nature reserve of construction, and artificially covering parts of the mountain with snow, is uncertain.

The Chinese Government has responded to these concerns by expanding the nature reserve by 31 per cent of its original size.

Earlier this month, President Xi claimed he was confident Beijing will host a successful Winter Olympics in 2022 after visiting the venues for the Games. 

Eight competition venues are ready for the event scheduled for February 4 to 20 in 2022.

Alongside the Capital Gymnasium and National Alpine Skiing Center, this includes the National Speed Skating Oval, the National Aquatics Center, the National Indoor Stadium, the Wukesong Ice Sports Center, the Shougang ski jumping platform and National Sliding Center.

The construction and renovation of all non-competition venues is set to be completed by July.

Xi visited the Capital Gymnasium in Beijing and the National Alpine Skiing Center in Yanqing District.

According to China's official state news agency Xinhua, the President expressed confidence during his visit that the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics would be a success.

Last week, the other President - Bach - was moved to describe the progress of preparations made by Beijing 2022 amidst a global pandemic as "almost a miracle". Those on the ground view it in more prosaic terms. And given the way the Chinese capital prepared for the 2008 Summer Olympics - at one point being gently admonished to slow down - such efficiency is not a surprise.

Speaking from Beijing, where he has lived since 2005, Vajda added: "I would say that inside the Organising Committee we are on schedule not only with the construction - all competition venues are done and some non-competitive venues are still to be finished but again we are on schedule and in the summer everything will be ready to go.

"The non-competitive venues are mainly the three Olympic Villages and the main Media Centres. There are also a few hotels awaiting finishing touches that have been built not so much for the Games but for their legacy."

At the beginning of January, the chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Juan Antonio Samaranch, praised the Organising Committee for progress made in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Acknowledging the difficult experience this year [2020], the progress being made by Beijing 2022 has been truly remarkable," Samaranch told Xinhua.

"The preparations for the Games are going extremely well despite all the challenges in the test event programmes due to COVID-19-related restrictions."

Numerous Beijing 2022 test events have been cancelled because of the global health crisis, but organisers insist construction projects have not been impacted.

The World Speed Skating Championships - due to run from February 25 to 28 - was among the cancelled test events. Cancellation of events in curling and women’s ice hockey last year has also resulted in changes to qualifying arrangements.

The World Curling Federation has proposed that qualification be based on placement in this year’s World Championships as well as a dedicated qualification tournament to complete the field - in place of points earned across the 2020 and 2021 World Championships.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), meanwhile, is basing its qualification for the women’s tournament upon existing IIHF world rankings without holding the 2020 Women’s World Championship.

Asked about the qualification process, Vajda, who worked on the Beijing 2022 bid before joining up to play a key role in the Organising Committee, responded: "Of course the International Federations (IFs) would be the ones most engaged with this. We provide the stadia and fields of play, and all the services for the athletes who eventually make it here.

"The qualification is a headache for everyone, simply because we can’t hold the events as they have been scheduled.

"We definitely follow our sports department and we are in contact with all the IFs and we totally understand the difficulties and uncertainties around qualification.

"But again for us as an Organising Committee our mandate is to provide the world-class and best possible services and field of play for the athletes. Who eventually qualifies is much more a sports professional and an International Federation matter."

Organisers report that they have received around a million applications to be Games volunteers, and Samaranch also singled out some of the sustainability initiatives launched by Beijing 2022 for praise.

"With 12 competition venues completed and plans for the 'One Year to Go' ceremonies well underway, activities are developing and excitement is really beginning to build up," added Samaranch.

"Using 100 per cent clean energy for the Games venues - for example, natural carbon dioxide as a refrigerant for the ice-making situations is an Olympic first - these are some of the steps to make these Games extremely green, in fact the greenest."

Beijing 2022 launched its official sustainability plan last May and reflects the mission to be "green, open, inclusive and clean".

In July 2018, the IOC announced the addition of seven new events: women's monobob; freestyle skiing big air for men and women; mixed team events for freestyle skiing aerials, ski jumping, and snowboard cross; and the mixed relay in short track speed skating. This means a total of 109 events will be held.

Meanwhile, Vajda reports that life is "almost normal" in the Chinese capital following the COVID-19 pandemic, adding: "The only thing you can notice is that people are wearing masks, but other than that life is back to normal.

"In terms of safety, security and the feeling of comfort I think it is definitely one of the better cities in the world today."