OSLO, ALMATY AND BEIJING CANDIDATE CITIES TO 2022 WINTER OLYMPICS

Lausanne, 7th July – The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unanimously agreed today that Oslo (Norway), Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China)* would progress from the Applicant City Phase to the Candidate City Phase in the bid to host the Olympic Winter Games 2022.
The three city race will end at the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur on 31st July 2015 2015, when we will know the lucky winner.
Each city was encouraged to produce a bid best suited to their own unique circumstances, with plans that reflect their own specific vision for how the Games can benefit their cities and regions and ensure positive, sustainable legacies for their populations. Oslo, Almaty and Beijing have done that:
– Oslo is focusing its bid on youth and building on the great legacy of the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer 1994. It hopes to inspire the population to embrace a healthier and more active lifestyle.
– Almaty’s legacy plans centre on providing the conditions to enable the city to become a sports, tourism and convention hub in Central Asia.
– Beijing is seeking to provide an extended legacy for venues built for the Olympic Games 2008. It wants to create a winter sports centre for China and use the Winter Games to act as a catalyst for the further development of the tourism and winter sports industry.
“The Executive Board was impressed by the legacy plans of each of the three cities, and will continue to support any future candidate or host city in developing them further,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “This support will be practical, involving the detailed transfer of knowledge as well as financial. In this respect it was good to see that each of the bidding cities understood the difference between the Olympic Games budget and the long-term infrastructure and investment budget, which will benefit their communities for decades to come,” he added.
The Candidate Cities now have until 7 January 2015 to submit their Candidature Files in-depth blueprints of the cities’ Olympic projects.