It’s hard to believe that the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing begin in a month — half a year after the close of the 2020/2021 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo.

The Tokyo Olympics this past summer were, at the time, one of the most visible tests for large-scale gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic. Already delayed by a year, the Games were still nerve-wracking due to the fear that they would become a so-called superspreader event.

Calls for the Olympics to be canceled grew louder as the opening date neared, especially among the Japanese themselves. The national government suffered, with the highly unpopular prime minister compelled to step down after just a year in office.

Luckily the athletes’ talent — and, in some high-profile cases, their openness about non-sports topics — stole the show from COVID-19. Still, the tension and uncertainty leading up to the Summer Olympics put a damper on the excitement and anticipation that usually precede the showcase of world-class talent.

Now, in just a few weeks, we’ll see the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. And at a time when we had hoped we could begin to look past the coronavirus and begin to enjoy ourselves, variants swept in and stole the show.

As a result, China’s COVID-19 regulations are even more stringent than Tokyo’s. People attending the Games, from athletes to media to volunteers, will be contained in a giant “bubble” comprising only Olympic venues. No one can enter, no one can leave.

You’d think the coronavirus pandemic is a big enough issue. However, China’s human rights record is another major shadow over the Games, one that observers have feared could have an impact on the events themselves.

Would athletes boycott their events? Would entire countries pull their delegations from the Olympics?

While neither situation has transpired — though calls for such protests continue — several countries led by the United States have declared “diplomatic boycotts” in which high-level government officials won’t attend the Games. Athletes will still compete.

Is it enough, given what China is accused of in terms of its crackdowns on minority groups and pro-democracy sentiment in Hong Kong? Some would say not.

Others would agitate, after two straight Olympic Games complicated by COVID-19, for a return to what the event ought to focus on — the athletes, the work they’ve put in to reach the global stage, and whether they’ll prevail as world champions.

That’s what France is aiming to achieve in 2024 when it hosts the Summer Olympics in Paris. Officials have already proclaimed the Games’ openness and accessibility, starting with the opening ceremony — it will take place in the middle of the city instead of a stadium, with plans to have participants traverse the Seine river in boats to reach the celebration.

Spectators will also be welcome, and (amid tight security) events will be held at major landmarks.

Three-time gold medalist Tony Estanguet, the person behind Paris’ organizing campaign, hinted at a sense of accountability in an interview with the New York Times last month. He said announcing the opening ceremony plans now allows for planning and appeals for support to begin.

“We need big celebrations and big moments for people all around the world to celebrate,” he said.

Indeed, after years of languishing in the grip of a virus that refuses to go away, the world needs something to look forward to.