Kazakhstan’s Almaty has hard-hitting final pitch for 2022 Winter Olympics

Beijing, seeking to become the first city to be awarded both summer and winter Olympics, is up against the Kazakh city of Almaty, who had presented their plans to the 85 voting IOC members earlier on Friday.

Beijing’s team was headed by Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong, and he was accompanied by two retired sports stars – former big-league basketball player Yao Ming and two-time Grand Slam tennis champion Li Na.

The presentations could help sway any undecided members ahead of the secret ballot later in the day among 86 expected eligible voters.

Beijing is the clear favorite to win the vote as the IOC grapples with the effects of a global economic crisis and the shifting power-base of world sport.

The bid team from Kazakhstan urged the IOC to resist the temptation to go back to China and instead send a positive message to smaller developing countries that they too could host the world’s greatest sporting events.

Masimov 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. “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”.

Oil-rich Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Massimov said that holding the Olympics could improve the political atmosphere.

“He is a superstar”, he said.

Dozens of pro-Beijing supporters gathered in a park just outside barriers set up to keep any potential protesters from the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, where the vote was to take place.

Both countries’ human rights records have been condemned by activist groups, but no mention of rights was made in the IOC debate.

On Friday, supporters wearing white t-shirts with Beijing lettering handed out both Chinese and five-ring Olympic flags to passers-by.

Compared with Almaty, what do you think will be the biggest advantage for the Beijing camp in the final bid? Many members are more interested in the race for the 2024 Summer Games, which has cities like Paris and Rome in contention but lost one candidate this week when Boston pulled out amid a lack of public and political support.

China will make huge use of artificial snow and some of the venues are 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Beijing.

China’s proposal will see the indoor ice sports taking place in venues around Beijing, including some that were used in 2008 such as the iconic Bird’s Nest stadium and the Water Cube, while the outdoor skiing and sliding sports will be held at the mountain venues of Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.

But after Russian Federation spent more than $50 billion to stage the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Oslo, Stockholm, Krakow in Poland and Lviv in Ukraine all withdrew because of cost fears and local politics. Chinese officials said they have plenty of water supplies and snow-making equipment to provide excellent conditions.