NBC Correspondent Mike Tirico to Return to the US from Beijing Olympics Because Earlier Than Expected Because of THIS Reason
Mike Tirico will be returning earlier to the United States from Beijing, China's 2022 Olympics, as he has many work commitments with NBC.
According to ABC News, the media giant's primetime Olympic Host will be staying in Beijing until Monday evening. Following this, he will go straight to NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
It appears that he will have little time to rest as he will be hosting a show for the network on Wednesday and Thursday.
His commitment doesn't stop there as he will be going directly to Los Angeles, California, the following day to host the Olympics and Super Bowl until the weekend.
After his brief stay in California, the famed sportscaster will fly back to Connecticut for the last week of the 2022 Olympics coverage.
While Tirico is flying back to the country, His spot will be filled by NBC News' Craig Melvin and co-host Maria Taylor.
Melvin will stay in the Chinese capital to cover the rest of the games, while Taylor will report from Stamford.
Per the outlet, the sports broadcaster was initially scheduled to stay in China until Thursday, and his scheduled appearance in Connecticut was not planned.
However, the network executives reiterated that the change of plans was based on COVID-19 measures and other factors.
Another reason why Tirico has to go back to his home country is that the Beijing Olympics and this year's Super Bowl schedule are aligned with each other.
The outlet noted that there was a problem with Tirico's schedule four years ago as he missed his Super Bowl hosting gig because he was preparing for the Olympics, which was held in Pyeongchang.
In addition, NBC is also having a hard time with limited reporters in China, and other announcers are based in Connecticut.
Beijing Olympics 2022 Opening Ceremony
According to the official website of the Olympics, the traditional lighting of the cauldron was held on February 4. All athletes from different countries marched together inside Beijing National Stadium for the famed parade of nations.
The theme of the ceremony was "One World, One Family." Since this year's highly-anticipated sports event is winter-themed, the opening was based on an image of a single snowflake.
The final week of the Beijing Olympics will be on February 20.
