WATCH: The International Olympic Committee has awarded the 2022 Winter Games to Beijing. It beat out the only other contender – the city of Almaty, in Kazakhstan – by a close 44 to 40 vote. Four European cities initially submitted their bids, but each one of them eventually abandoned their bid. But for Beijing, neither cost nor the technical challenges of hosting the games seem to be an issue. Reid Fiest reports.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Beijing was selected Friday to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, becoming the first city awarded both the winter and summer games.
Beijing narrowly defeated Almaty, Kazakhstan, in a vote of the International Olympic Committee. The vote was surprisingly close: 44-40.
The Chinese capital, which hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, came in to the vote as the strong favourite, despite its lack of natural snow.
The secret vote was conducted by paper ballot, after the first electronic vote experienced technical faults with the tablets.
Beijing was seen by the IOC as a safe, reliable choice that also offered vast commercial opportunities in a new winter sports market of more than 300 million people in northern China.
WATCH: Hundreds cheered in China’s Hebei province on Friday as a live feed showed the International Olympic Committee’s decision to award the 2022 Winter Olympics to Beijing and its two co-host locations, Yanqing and Chongli.
Almaty had hoped to bring the games to Central Asia for the first time, but was a lesser-known quantity and viewed as a riskier choice by IOC members. Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov made a last-minute impassioned plea for the IOC to be “brave” and give the games to his country, but it wasn’t enough.
READ MORE: Almaty, Beijing make last pitches ahead of IOC vote on 2022 Winter Olympics
The contest was a study in contrasts between the world’s most populous nation and a former Soviet republic seeking to establish itself on the world stage. China’s size and political and economic might was a big advantage against its northwestern neighbour, which became independent in 1991.
Beijing and Almaty had both been 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.
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, 60 and 140 kilometres (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.
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