As yet another Winter Olympics raises its curtain in Italy, the surging global anticipation for the ice and snow sports extravaganza owes a fair share of credit to the Games' previous host. Thanks to the promotion of winter sports in China leading up to Beijing 2022 and beyond, the Milano-Cortina 2026 edition, which opened at Milan's iconic San Siro Stadium on Friday night (local time), will have a massive new fan base tuning in to the 19-day celebration of athletic feats and friendship, with winter sports in general having engaged with at least 346 million new participants from China, a goal confirmed by official statistics in October 2021, and still counting. Just check the bustling scenes...
