July 31, 2015: Chinese delegation, from left, Yao Ming, Li Nina, Yang Lan, Liu Peng, Yang Yang, Vice President of the China Olympics Council Yu Zaiqing, China Vice Premier Liu Yandong, Wang Anshun, Zhang Haidi, Li Lingwei, Hou Liang and Zhang Li attend the Beijing’s bid presentation for the host city for the 2022 Winter Games, at the 128th International Olympic Committee session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Photo: AP)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Beijing was chosen Friday to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, making the city the first ever to be awarded both the winter and summer games. In a vote taken by the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese capital defeated Almaty, Kazakhstan, though the voting numbers were not immediately released.
Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics yet still went in the vote as the heavy favorite, despite its lack of natural snow and winter conditions. It was the safe choice for the IOC, according to them, as well as the reliable choice. It also didn’t hurt to offer more commercial opportunities than the competition in a new winter sports market that has grown to more than 300 million people in northern China.
Choosing Almaty would have brought the games to Central Asia for the first time. But they were seen by the Committee as a riskier choice with lower name recognition. Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov made a last-minute impassioned plea for the IOC to be “brave,” and give the games to his country. Ultimately, it wasn’t good enough for the Committee to ignore the cold hard cash Beijing can offer. China’s sheer size, political and economic strength proved an enormous advantage against its northwestern neighbor, which only became independent in 1991.
Almaty was a former Soviet republic satellite state that is now seeking to establish itself on the world stage. Ironically, both Beijing and Almaty had been widely considered to be underdogs when the 2022 bid race opened two years ago. But, in an unexpected turn of events, they were the only two candidates left after four European cities — including Oslo and Stockholm — pulled out for political or financial reasons.
Beijing plans to use several venues from the 2008 Olympics, including the “Bird’s Nest” stadium and “Water Cube” arena. But the snow and sliding events would be at venues in Yangqing and Zhangjiakou, 40 and 90 miles outside Beijing. A planned high-speed rail line to Zhangjiakou is supposed to cut travel time to 50 minutes.
China’s mountain venues also rely heavily on man-made snow, which was considered one of the bid’s main weaknesses and one that was the target of Almaty’s “Keeping it Real” slogan. Almaty is surrounded by towering mountains and plenty of natural snow, but Beijing bid leaders insisted they have sufficient water supplies and snow-making equipment for ideal skiing conditions.
