From Vladimir Putin to Imran Khan: World leaders who will attend Beijing Olympics 2022

A diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics over human rights in China and concerns about coronavirus have reduced the number of world leaders and foreign dignitaries attending the Games.

Here is a list of who is expected to go:

Mixed doubles curling was set to open competition in Beijing on Wednesday as the shadow of war in Ukraine, and the impending arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin, loomed over a Winter Games already transformed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The political showdown between Putin and the West over Ukraine remained the main Olympic act ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, which the Russian president was expected to attend in a show of unity with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will be attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 4.

China’s Embassy in Riyadh said it hopes this visit will “promote the development of the global Olympic field and the development of Sino-Saudi comprehensive strategic relations.”

 

Khan said increasing exports, finding import substitution and alleviating poverty were significant areas of national interest.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will be among more than twenty foreign personalities in the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

 

Poland's President Andrzej Duda will attend the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

"Poland is a sovereign nation and decides its own politics towards China. ... Poland is an ally of the United States but Poland also has a very friendly relationship with China," Duda's foreign affairs advisor Jakub Kumoch said.

The Polish president's relationship with China has been positive recently, with him making a surprise appearance at the 17+1 summit with China as other central European nations sent lower ranking officials. Duda has said Poland plans to take advantage of its geographical location to boost its role in trade between Europe and China.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is one of the confirmed European invitees who are all set to attend the Beijing Olympics. His authoritarian government is aiding Russian and Chinese propaganda and allowing genocide denialists to celebrate war criminals.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will participate in the opening ceremony of the 24th Olympic Winter Games in Beijing upon the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, said President’s Spokesperson Berik Uali.

 

Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Zhaparov will be among five other presidents of ex-Soviet Central Asian republics to attend the Beijing Olympics. 

Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prince Albert II of Monaco has arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to attend Friday's opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

This is his 11th visit to China. He attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008, the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014, and the IAAF World Championships in Beijing in 2015.

The prince, a former professional winter sports athlete, has attended five Winter Olympic Games.

He is a member of the International Olympic Committee, the president of the Monaco Olympic Committee, and honorary chairman of the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), the world governing body of powerboating.