Beijing chosen as host city for 2022 winter Olympics

Xi expressed the Chinese government’s “strongest support” for Beijing in a video message to an worldwide Olympic Committee meeting to decide whether Beijing or Almaty, Kazakhstan, gets the 2022 Games.

The Beijing bid delegation had no sooner finished their congratulatory hugs and handshakes after being awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics than criticism from human rights groups over the IOC’s decision began to pour in.

Beijing and Almaty had both been considered longshots when the 2022 bid race opened two years ago.

Kazakhstan, a former Soviet state, pitched itself as a model for future hosts, embracing all the new reforms with a low-cost bid in a city which already has most of the facilities in place after hosting the 2011 Asian Winter Games.

The Bird’s Nest stadium made famous during the Summer Games will again be used for the Opening and Closing ceremonies, according to Olympic Talk. Its mountain events would be held at venues in Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, 60 and 140 kilometers (40 and 90 miles) away from the city.

Despite being in rude health economically, officials in Almaty plan to keep events within a 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) radius, saving $500 million in transport costs between locations.

Activists had called on the IOC to reject Beijing’s bid because of China’s deteriorating human rights situation, pointing to the recent nationwide crackdown on lawyers and others. “In fact, we are quite the opposite”.

“We are a golden opportunity to prove that smaller advancing nations can successfully host the Olympic Games“, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov told the IOC. The Winter Youth Olympics, featuring seven sports from the Winter Games, is for athletes between the ages of 15 and 18.

China presents at the IOC on July 31. “I find that a curious statement”.

Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games.

GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images People react as they watch live coverage of the announcement on a large TV screen in Beijing. “And, in each case, you were right”.

“Have faith in us, have faith in Kazakhstan”, Prime Minister Massimov asked.

“The venues will need to be technically excellent, need to be Olympic standard and I hope the IOC are going to make sure everything is ready”.

Beijing, however, offered a solid option amid tough economic times, with numerous venues ready.

Beijing, which emerged as an unlikely favourite in the vote after numerous cities steeped in winter sports tradition dropped out the bidding process, beat out its sole competitor in the vote – Almaty, Kazakhstan – providing the ruling Communist Party another opportunity to flaunt its growing wealth and power to the world.

“We coordinated our vision of Beijing 2022 and the three Games Zones around the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, a plan that was in the works long before the idea of hosting the Winter Games was conceived”.

But there were little obvious sign of celebration when Beijing was formally announced as the victor on Friday, apart from government organised events, although many people said they were pleased China had won the vote.