To develop an expansive winter event program that will draw on existing venues and new venues, the organizing committee is looking to the people of Beijing. Sports that can be feasibly played in China were narrowed down by over 90 different localities and then selected. Naturally, a good number of the sporting events will be winter sports as the coldest months are typically in the fall, and thus considered best to host them in.
Each sport will also focus on showcasing the skills, athletic ability, and social skills of Chinese athletes. Consider the following list of sports:
Bobsledding
Snowboarding
Snowshoeing
Biathlon
Cross-country skiing
Figure skating
Freestyle skiing
Team sledding
Ice hockey
Luge
Ski jumping
Diving
Figure skating
Speed skating
There will also be three new snowboard disciplines: slopestyle (snowboarding with rails), halfpipe, and a slalom course that mimics a downhill course (except for the jumps). Slopestyle and halfpipe began as off-the-piste board sports; however, due to their popularity, they became part of the Olympic program during the Nagano Winter Games in 1998. Figure skating will also add a new event to the program called mixed dance, which adds a different element to the sport; athletes will perform in choreographed routines to music while wearing costumes in an amalgamation of ice dance and a modern dance competition.