The World Press Briefing has been held for Beijing 2022 ©Getty Images

The World Press Briefing for Beijing 2022 attracted 400 registered members after being held virtually, making it the largest-ever for a Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Participants heard updates from the Organising Committee (BOCOG) online as they were unable to gather in the Chinese capital in-person due to coronavirus restrictions. 

No World Press Briefing has been held online before, meaning the event had a different feel with tours of venues and media facilities not possible.

Beijing 2022 vice-president and secretary general Hang Zirong was present throughout as updates were given on areas including venue construction, media operations, accreditation and technology.

Department heads were available to answer questions, while 3D simulations attempted to give those in attendance a better understanding of the Winter Games venues.

Advances in 5G technology, which will be in use in 2022, were a key topic of discussion.

"With 400 registered members, it was the biggest Winter Games World Press Briefing ever, which illustrates the great interest from the world's media for Beijing 2022," said Anthony Edgar, the former head of media operations for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and now a senior consultant for Beijing 2022, to Xinhua, China's state-run news agency. 

Lucia Montanarella, the IOC's current head of media operations, added: "I think that the commitment of Beijing 2022 trying to deliver high standard services and facilities to the media is testified by the table that we see, with the top management of BOCOG participating at the opening of this world press briefing."

The event was held virtually, meaning no tours were possible at venues such as the Ice Ribbon speed skating facility ©Getty Images
The event was held virtually, meaning no tours were possible at venues such as the Ice Ribbon speed skating facility ©Getty Images

The Beijing 2022 Olympics are due to be held between February 4 and 20, with the Paralympics scheduled to follow from March 4 to 13.

Organisers have previously insisted that preparations are on track, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

China has faced criticism for its treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang and its crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong, however.

This has led some politicians to call for a boycott of Beijing 2022, a suggestion angrily rebuffed by the IOC.

Julia Vynokurova, who was the head of media operations at the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in January, said the virtual World Press Briefing could be repeated in future as it allowed more people to take part.

"Holding the World Press Briefing online meant that more media could benefit from the briefing – not just the big agencies and newspapers, but also freelance photographers and sports journalists from all over the world, who previously could not afford to attend in person," she said.