Beijing "will go head-to-head with the little-known Kazakh city of Almaty for the right to host the 2022 winter Olympics" when the IOC elects the winner at its session in Malaysia next week, according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS.
Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Games, "is looking to become the first city to be awarded both summer and winter" Olympics.
No matter what city wins Asia will "host three consecutive Olympics" after the 2018 winter Games in PyeongChang in South Korea and Tokyo's 2020 summer Olympics.
Beijing is a "clear frontrunner" in the race, with even Almaty consultants "admitting their bid is the underdog." Almaty consultant Terrence Burns wrote,
"We are competing against a very formidable Beijing. To be honest, we’re considered a long shot. An underdog."
Yet "not all is working" in Beijing's favor, including the fact that "sliding and skiing events are to be staged in two mountain sites 74 and 180 kilometers away, respectively."
Almaty "narrowed the gap in June, scoring points during a presentation to the IOC with their 'keeping it real' slogan." The city was a former Soviet winter sports hub. It is that winter sports atmosphere and the compactness of the bid, with everything in a 35-km radius, that Almaty "has played up, with Beijing offering technical excellence but lacking the feel of a traditional snow-covered winter sports destination" (REUTERS, 7/25).
