2022 Winter Olympics: Beijing And Almaty To Make Final Bid Friday

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- The question of which country will host the 2022 Winter Olympics will be revealed after Beijing, China and Almaty, Kazakhstan make their final presentation Friday. During the presentation, the delegation will show the International Olympic Council (IOC) how their unique Games Concept based on real winter weather, real winter sports venues and real winter ambience aligns perfectly with the new Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms. Beijing and Almaty are excellent candidates with no financial problems because both countries have a rapid growing economy and lots of facilities already in place. For Beijing, the city has a proven record after hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and according to the China's 2022 Winter Olympic Games Bid Committee spokeswoman, Wang Hui, Beijing has many advantages to host the Winter Olympics especially its sustainable economy which is in line with the Olympics agenda. Beijing already has 11 of the 12 sports venues that were built for the 2008 summer Games and do not need major construction to host the winter Games. Beijing lacks high mountains in the immediate vicinity and its winters are known for being cold and dry, with only intermittent light snow but the organisers are confident that man-made snow was now standard in big competitions to ensure firm and smooth slopes. The ski and sliding events have been proposed to be held at venues in Yangqing and Zhangjiakou, about 60 and 140 kilometers (40 and 90 miles) from the city, while for indoor events, venues in the Beijing city center can be used. To compensate for the distance, a high-speed rail line is being build to Zhangjiakou that organisers said will take only 50 minutes to reach and if the bid was successful, Beijing would become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Almaty by comparison, is a winter wonderland where the financial capital of Kazakhstan is surrounded by 4,000 metre high mountains in the Tien Shan ranges. According to Almaty mayor Akhmetzan Yessimov, money for the Games' expenses and the 2022 Winter Olympic Games bid was based on a low-cost strategy because most of the venues and infrastructure have already been built. Under the slogan "Keeping it Real," Almaty has emphasised on its natural snow covered sites and compactness as most venues are within half an hour's travel through the Alpine scenery. Seventy per cent of the venues which would be within a 30km radius of the athlete's village are already existing and the venues have been successfully tested through numerous international competitions. Almaty, who applied to bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics but failed to make it to the short listed candidate cities will host the Winter Universiade, scheduled from Jan 28 to Feb 8, 2017. --BERNAMA