KUALA-LUMPUR – Following final pitches by the cities of Almaty and Beijing to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 31 at 6 p.m. local time in the capital of Malaysia chose Beijing to host the Games.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Games will be split between three Olympic sites: one in the city of Zhangjiakou, 125 miles from Beijing in Hebei province, another in Yanqing, a mountainous region to Beijing’s northwest, and a third in China’s capital.
“Winner and a non-winner, we are happy for our Chinese partner and we wish them well,” said Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Erlan Idrissov. He added that Almaty came close to winning the right to host the Games and that “there is frustration, however, this is a competition.” He concluded that the Olympic movement remains strong.
This was an historic day for Kazakhstan and the International Olympic Committee because it was the first time only two cities remained for the final choice.
“Today is an historic day and moment because I am staying here and presenting my country,” said Denis Ten, 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, during a press conference after Almaty’s final presentation.
Despite the fact that Almaty just lost this battle, the Kazakh delegation said it was looking forward to future challenges and wishes its neighbour good luck. It is time toturn the pageand reach for new heights, they said.
There are many upcoming events in Kazakhstan’s future. In two years, Kazakhstan will host the EXPO 2017 international specialised exhibition and the Winter University Games in Almaty.
