Have the Winter Olympics caught you cold? Here’s our armchair guide

Have the Winter Olympics caught you cold? Just like the Jamaican bobsleigh team (their first appearance since 1998) the Games are back as the biggest global stars on snow and ice descend on Beijing in pursuit of all things gold, silver and bronze. The timings are not the most sociable for viewers in the UK – with most days’ events starting about midnight and finishing about 3pm – but there is a lot to get excited about. Here’s our armchair guide on what to follow, when and why snowboard cross might be your new favourite sport.

The opening ceremony is a Friday night affair on 4 February, with 3,000 performers and Beijing 2022 organisers promising a cauldron-lighting that is “unprecedented in the over 100-year history of the Olympic Games” at the National Stadium, affectionately known as the Bird’s Nest. However, events will start before the opening ceremony, with curling and luge kicking things off on Wednesday, before Alpine skiing, freestyle skiing and ice hockey (including a huge women’s match between the defending Olympic champions, the USA, and the world No 3s, Finland) get going on Thursday.

Team GB has 50 fully vaccinated athletes – nine shy of the 2018 total – with the speed skater Ellia Smeding given the final berth last week. All are expected to follow strict Covid protocols: they have to to stay and eat in designated locations and have been instructed to minimise hugs, high-fives and handshakes at all times, although commemorative condoms in their hotel rooms suggest authorities are anticipating some rule-breaking. In slightly less tantalising developments, the GB athletes have been offered temporary mobile phones because of fears they could be spied on by the Chinese government. Britain has joined the USA,