Just six months on and the Olympics show is back on the road with its winter edition.
It's rare for two Games to be so close together as the hotter climes of Tokyo have been replaced by Beijing's cold temperatures and makeshift snow.
China's £2.5billion event is coming into view and although rising Covid cases continue to threaten the much-anticipated Games, the final touches are being made.
Here, Sportsmail takes a look at the reasons why fans should be excited about February's instalment.
Just six months on and the Olympics show is back on the road with its winter edition, in Beijing
The Winter Olympics takes sport to a whole new level with the most extreme and dangerous competitions.
And this time there are seven more events to get to know, try to understand and ultimately watch in awe and marvel at the sheer skill.
The schedule, running from February 4 to February 20, will now include women’s monobob, freestyle skiing big air, short track speed skating mixed relay, plus mixed team events in ski jumping mixed team, freestyle skiing aerials and snowboard cross.
There will be seven new events next month, including short track speed skating mixed relay
Female athletes now have the chance to compete alone in the bobsleigh while a mixed relay event in short track speed skating promises to be the perfect cocktail of chaos and thrill.
The programme features alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, nordic combined, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboard and speed skating.
Most gender-balanced GamesThe addition of seven more events makes this year's Games the most gender-balanced Winter Games of all time.
The new disciplines will see the percentage of female athletes increase to 45.44 per cent.
This comes after Tokyo's Summer Olympics last year were the most gender equal with 48.8 per cent of the athletes competing women.
Freestyle skier Eileen Gu, British snowboarder Katie Ormerod (see below) as well as short track speed skater Suzanne Schulting are just a few of the names who could steal the headlines next month.
British snowboarder Katie Ormerod is set to make her Olympic debut
The 24-year-old will be keen to make up for lost time. The Team GB snowboarder suffered a career-threatening injury that stopped her from competing in Pyeongchang four years ago.
Ormerod was regarded as the most promising British medal prospect following her success at the World Cup and X-Games but her Olympics were over before it had even begun.
She broke her heel in two the night before the competition was due to start. Ormerod previously snapped her anterior cruciate knee ligament, damaged the meniscus in both knees, fractured her shoulder and both arms, as well as her back.
The Halifax star underwent seven operations, a skin graft and almost two years of gruelling rehab before she returned to action.
Ormerod is finally set for the main stage.
Beijing makes historyThe Chinese city is the first ever to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games after the 2008 event.
The summer edition 14 years ago was the first time China had held the Olympics and it was quite the spectacle.
Beijing doesn't seem to be the most obvious location for a winter sports extravaganza but cash has been splashed with all eyes on the city for a fortnight.
The spectacular Bird's Nest national stadium will be the backdrop for the opening and closing ceremonies once more.
The spectacular Bird's Nest national stadium will be the backdrop for the ceremonies again
Just like last summer in Tokyo the time difference is great for UK viewers as we can wake up to fierce competitive action.
Beijing is eight hours ahead, meaning some of the medals will be decided around lunchtime.
And for those struggling to sleep... the preliminary rounds of events will be taking place in the early hours of the morning in the UK.
There will be non-stop action on a daily basis for two weeks and let's face it there's not an awful lot else
