A total of six bids were initially submitted for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Four of the bids were subsequently withdrawn by 1 October 2014, citing either the high costs of hosting the Games or the lack of local support, leaving Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing, China as the only two remaining candidate cities. Beijing was then elected as the host city at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 31 July 2015.
Bidding calendar On 3 October 2012, the IOC announced in a letter to the NOCs the bidding calendar for the 2022 Winter Olympics: 3 October 2012 – First information circular letter to NOCs 6 June 2013 – IOC officially invites bid applicants from NOCs and publishes the 2022 Applicant City Questionnaire – International Olympic Committee 14 November 2013 – Deadline for NOCs to submit the name of an applicant city 4–6 December 2013 – Applicant city seminar at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland 7–23 February 2014 – Olympic Winter Games Observer Programme 14 March 2014 – Submission of the application file 7 July 2014 – Selection of candidate cities by the IOC Executive Board 7 January 2015 – Submission of candidature files and guarantees 14–18 February 2015 in Almaty – IOC Evaluation Commission visits 24–28 March 2015 in Beijing – IOC Evaluation Commission visits 1–2 June 2015 – Evaluation Commission report 9–10 June 2015 – Candidate City briefing to IOC members 31 July 2015 – Host city election at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Candidate cities venues list Note that the selected candidate cities have slightly changed venues plan in the final proposal to the IOC. Almaty moved technical alpine skiing events from Shymbulak to Tau, and completely removed both Kok Zhaylau and Ak-Bulak ski resorts, previously proposed for snowboarding and freestyle skiing events. Beijing dropped both Taiwu and Wanlong ski resorts, and proposed hosting snowboarding and freestyle skiing events in the two venues (A and B) in Genting Snow Park. Event Almaty Beijing, p.19 Olympics dates 4 Feb – 20 Feb Paralympics dates 4 Mar – 13 Mar Opening and closing ceremonies Almaty Central Stadium Beijing National Stadium Alpine skiing 1) Shymbulak (downhill, super-G, super combined)2) Tau Park Alpine (slalom, giant slalom) Xiaohaituo Alpine Skiing Field (Yanqing) Cross-country skiing Ak Bulak Nordic Arena Guyangshu Biathlon Field (Zhangjiakou) Ski jumping Sunkar Jumping Hills Guyangshu Ski Jumping Field (Zhangjiakou) Nordic combined Sunkar Skiing Centre Guyangshu Biathlon Field (Zhangjiakou) Biathlon Ak Bulak Nordic Arena Hualindong Ski Resort (Zhangjiakou) Freestyle skiing 1) Tabagan Snow Park (aerials, moguls, half-pipe)2) Tau Park Snowboard Freestyle (ski-cross, slopestyle) 1) Genting Snow Park A (Zhangjiakou; half-pipe, slopestyle, ski cross)2) Genting Snow Park B (moguls, aerials) Snowboarding 1) Tabagan Snow Park (half-pipe)2) Tau Park Snowboard Freestyle (parallel slalom, parallel giant slalom, snowboard cross, slopestyle) Genting Snow Park A (Zhangjiakou) Ice hockey Main Venue Almaty Ice Palace Wukesong Arena (Beijing) Ice hockey Baluan Sholak Sports Palace Beijing National Indoor Stadium Speed skating Medeo Beijing National Speed Skating Oval Figure skating, short track Almaty Olympic Ice Arena Capital Indoor Stadium (Beijing) CurlingHalyk Arena Beijing National Aquatics Centre Bobsleigh, luge, skeleton Sunkar Sliding Centre Yanqing National Sliding Centre (Yanqing)
Withdrawn candidate city Event Oslo Olympics dates 11 Feb – 27 Feb Paralympics dates 11 Mar – 20 Mar Opening and closing ceremonies Bjerke Travbane Alpine skiing 1) Kvitfjell (downhill, super-G, combined) 2) Hafjell (slalom, giant slalom) Cross-country skiing Holmenkollen Ski jumping 1) Holmenkollbakken2) Midtstubakken Nordic combined Holmenkollen Biathlon Grønmo Freestyle skiing 1) Wyller (ski cross, half-pipe, slopestyle)2) Grefsen (moguls, aerials) Snowboard Wyller Ice hockey 1 Stubberud Ice hockey 2 Jordal Amfi Speed skating Valle Hovin Figure skatingShort track Fornebu Arena Curling Lørenskog Bobsleigh, luge, skeleton Lillehammer Track
Candidate cities comparison All data comes from applicant cities' bid books. Candidate cities' public support data has been updated. Category Details Almaty Beijing Population (2014) City 1,600,000 19,612,368 Country 17,736,896 1,350,695,000 Air Quality Score Environmental Performance Index (2014) 95.92 18.81 Public opinion, support City 85% (July 2015) 88% (July 2015) Country 87% (July 2015) 92% (July 2015) Bid budget (mln USD) Applicant phase 4.5 11.25 Candidature phase 30 18.75 Main airport(2014 / 2022) Name Almaty International Beijing Capital and Daxing (in project) Distance (km) 9.4 25/46 Capacity per hour 1600 / 4000 9900 / - Longest distance(airports excluded) km 47 257 min 55 178 Accommodation(number of rooms) Existing 36,573 109,940 Planned 7,597 5,718 Additional 13,503 - Total 57,673 115,658 Proposed sport venues (opening/closing ceremony venues excluded) Existing (no permanent works required) 7 4 Existing (permanent works required) 1 3 Planned (irrespective of the games) 3 - Additional (games dependent) 2 6
Withdrawn candidate city Category Details Oslo Population (2014) City 634,463 Country 5,136,700 Air Quality Score Environmental Performance Index (2014) 98.33 Public opinion, support City 41% (Mar 2014) Country 35% (Mar 2014) Bid budget (mln USD) Applicant phase 27 Candidature phase 25 Main airport(2014 / 2022) Name Oslo-Gardermoen Distance (km) 50 Capacity per hour 4200 / 5300 Longest distance(airports excluded) km 228 min 165 Accommodation(number of rooms) Existing 23,474 Planned 142 Additional 1,000 Total 24,616 Proposed sport venues (opening/closing ceremony venues excluded) Existing (no permanent works required) 1 Existing (permanent works required) 7 Planned (irrespective of the games) - Additional (games dependent) 5
Evaluation of the applicant cities Each cell of the table provides a minimum and a maximum figure obtained by the applicant city on the specific criteria. These figures are to be compared to a benchmark which has been set at 6. + Table of scores given by the IOC Working Group to assess the quality and feasibility of the 2022 Applicant cities Criteria Oslo Almaty Beijing Min Max Min Max Min Max Games concept and competition venues 7.0 9.0 6.0 8.5 5.5 7.5 Olympic Village(s) 6.0 9.0 4.5 8.0 6.5 8.0 International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre 6.0 9.0 5.5 8.0 7.0 8.5 Sports experience 9.0 10.0 4.5 7.0 6.5 8.0 Environment and meteorology 8.5 9.5 5.0 6.0 5.0 7.0 Accommodation 7.0 8.0 5.0 6.5 7.0 8.5 Transport 7.5 8.5 6.0 8.0 5.0 7.5 Doping control 9.0 10.0 6.0 7.0 7.0 8.0 Safety and security 8.0 9.0 5.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 Telecommunications 8.0 9.0 5.0 7.0 7.0 9.0 Energy 8.5 9.5 4.0 6.0 6.0 8.5 Legal aspects, customs and immigration formalities 7.0 9.0 6.0 8.0 7.0 9.0 Government and public support 5.0 7.0 6.5 8.0 8.0 9.0 Finance and marketing 6.5 8.5 5.0 6.5 7.5 9.0
Candidate cities overview On 15 November 2013, the IOC announced the list of the six applicant cities. On 7 July 2014, the IOC announced that there were three remaining applicant cities that would move on to the candidate phase; these were Almaty, Beijing and Oslo.
On 1 October 2014, Oslo withdrew its application after one of the country's governing political parties Høyre decided not to support the application."Norway government rejects 2022 Winter Olympics bid", from Sports Illustrated 1 October 2014 The remaining two candidate cities were therefore Almaty and Beijing.
Both of the candidate cities suggested hosting the Games between February 4–20, 2022. The Paralympics will be held from March 4–13. Oslo suggested hosting the Games between February 11–27, 2022. The Paralympics will be held from March 10–20.
Almaty Almaty Overview Details Votes 40 Country
Since 2011, the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan has been considering a bid for the 2022 games in Almaty, the former longtime capital city and still the largest city and financial centre of the country. Kazakhstan hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games. Almaty will host 2017 Winter Universiade. The current Kazakh capital Astana considered to joint bid with Almaty but the idea was later declined. On 17 August 2013, Almaty announced they were bidding for the 2022 Games.Almaty Bids For 2022 Winter Olympic Games Under the slogan "Keeping it Real", Almaty has emphasized her traditional winter setting with tall mountains and plenty of natural snow coverage as well as compactness — most venues are within half an hour's travel through Alpine scenery.Almaty offers traditional winter setting in 2022 Olympic bid, The Washington Post, 2015/7/28Almaty 2022 Winter Olympic bid at a glance, The Washington Times, 2015/7/26
Presenting Kazakhstan's bid at the final event in Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov made a speech with the key message that Almaty was "not a risk choice for 2022", but "a golden opportunity to prove that smaller advancing nations can successfully host the winter games". He called to the IOC core values saying that letting Almaty host the Games was "a golden opportunity to showcase the real long-term power of Olympic legacy for a region that has never hosted the Games".Speech made by Karim Massimov before the final voting in Kuala Lumpur on July 31 In the final voting Almaty lost to Beijing by only 4 votes.
Beijing Beijing Overview Details Votes 44 Country
On 5 November 2013, the Chinese Olympic Committee announced that it would submit a bid for Beijing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Beijing (where the indoor ice sports and the ceremonies would take place), was the host city of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Zhangjiakou would host the outdoor snow events.
Before the final voting in Kuala Lumpur Beijing's bid was presented by Yang Lan, a renowned former CCTV host, who said sports and fitness were becoming a new fashion trend in China. In her speech she focused on China's economy and its ability to support every commitment it made "protecting long time financial viability and the reputation of the Games".Speech of Yang Lan before the final voting in Luala Lumpur on July 31
Oslo Oslo Overview Details Votes Withdrew bid Country
On 6 November 2013, the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports announced that Oslo would be submitted as the Norwegian candidate for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Oslo last hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics, and Norway last hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. On 1 October 2014 the Conservative Party decided that they would not support a bid for the games citing costs and lack of public support. A vast number of polls were conducted, and since April 2014 support had varied between 24% and 37%. The days leading up to the deliberation in the Conservative Party had consisted of a series of negative developments for the bid. Those negative developments included the Centre Party saying "no" through a grass root vote, a poll showing that even within the Norwegian Confederation of Sports the majority of members opposed the bid, an external revision which clarified that the newly suggested cheaper budget was unrealistic and public scrutiny on IOC´s 7000 pages of demands.