Almaty, Beijing make last pitches ahead of IOC vote on 2022 Winter Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The prime minister of Kazakhstan challenged the IOC on Friday to make a “historic decision” by awarding the 2022 Winter Olympics to Almaty, painting the project as the one that offers real snow and mountain conditions as opposed to the rival bid from Beijing.

Beijing countered that it offers experience, reliability and the prospect of bringing winter sports to a market of 300 million people in northern China.

Both cities made final presentations to the International Olympic Committee ahead of the vote later in the day, offering starkly different choices.

Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Olympics, goes in as the favourite as it bids to become the first city to stage both summer and winter games. Almaty hopes to bring the games to Central Asia for the first time and help raise Kazakhstan’s profile on the international stage.

The 45-minute presentations could help sway any undecided members ahead of the secret ballot among 85 eligible voters.

As the underdog, Almaty had the most to gain and went all-out in trying to make its case and make digs at the Beijing bid’s weaknesses.

“Almaty had to change the paradigm, taking on one of the superpowers, and I thought they made their case,” Canadian IOC member Dick Pound told The Associated Press. “They were very effective. Whether it translates into votes – that remains to be seen.”

Beijing and Almaty were both considered longshots when the 2022 bid race opened two years ago. But they were the only two candidates left after four European cities – including Oslo and Stockholm – pulled out for political or financial reasons.

Almaty is bidding for a second time, but this is the first time it made it to the vote after being cut in the preliminary stage for the 2014 Games.

“Almaty is not a risky choice for 2022,” Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov told the IOC delegates. “In fact, we are quite the opposite. … We are a golden opportunity to prove that smaller, advancing nations can successfully host the Winter Games.”

Almaty hammered hard on its “Keeping it Real” theme, which is an indirect attack on Beijing’s lack of snow and winter sports tradition and the long distances between the Chinese capital and mountain venues. Almaty portrayed its bid as one that goes back to the tradition of the Winter Games, showing videos featuring towering peaks and deep snow and stressing that all venues are within a 30-kilometre (18-mile) radius.

Massimov directly addressed the idea that the IOC considers China a safer, more dependable choice.

“We’ve heard the sentiment that if you do not select Almaty, then you, the IOC, can ‘sleep well at night’ for the next seven years,” Massimov said. “I find that a curious statement.”

Massimov said the IOC has been “brave” in the past, including by challenging apartheid in South Africa, going to Moscow for the 1980 Games at the height of the Cold War and giving the games to Beijing in 2008.

“In each case, you were right,” he said. “So today, we ask you to have faith in us, to have faith in Kazakhstan. Our request is not simply based on blind faith. It is based on facts, the facts that you need to make an historic decision – historic not only for Kazakhstan, but for the Olympic Movement as well.”

Beijing’s presentation played much less on emotion and sought mainly to reinforce the pitch that China – the world’s most populous nation, rising power and economic giant – can be counted on to deliver, as it did for the IOC in 2008.

“Hosting the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing will encourage 300 million Chinese, particularly the country’s young people, to participate in ice and snow sports,” Vice Premier Liu Yandong said.

Beijing would use several venues from 2008, including the “Bird’s Nest” stadium and “Water Cube” arena. Its mountain events would be held at venues in Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, 60 and 140 kilometres (40 and 90 miles) away from the city.

Beijing sought to counter the argument that it does not offer true Winter Games conditions.

“China in winter is spectacular,” Mayor Wang Anshun said. “More than half of our country experiences temperatures below freezing.”

In contrast to Almaty, China would rely heavily on man-made snow. Addressing those concerns, Chinese Olympic Committee president Liu Peng said snowmaking would use less than 1 per cent of the local water supply.

The star of the Beijing show was former NBA star Yao Ming, who featured in a video playing ice hockey with young kids and also appeared on stage.

“Everyone in China is getting into winter sports,” he said. “Including myself.”

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AP Sports Writer Dennis Passa contributed to this report.