China Cancels Olympic Ticket Sales After Omicron Cases Found in Beijing

Workers in PPE stand next to the Olympic rings inside the closed loop area near the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, where the opening and closing ceremonies of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will be held, in Beijing, China, on Dec. 30, 2021. Thomas Peter/Reuters

Beijing Olympic Organizers on Jan. 17 stopped selling tickets to the general public after the city reported its first case of the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Tickets will only be distributed to a selected group of spectators for the Winter Games taking place from Feb. 4, according to an announcement posted on the organizing committee’s website. Those spectators will need to “strictly abide by” authorities’ virus curbs to “help create an absolutely safe environment for the athletes,” the organizers said.