100 Questions about the Winter Olympics | Which cities did Beijing defeat in its successful bid to host the Winter Olympics?

　　　　The 24th Winter Olympic Games will kick off in Beijing on February 4, 2022, marking a hundred-day countdown.

This "Double Olympic City" from summer to winter is about to become a new milestone in the history of the 100-year Olympic Games. 

　　　　Starting today, the Sports Department of Chinanews.com has launched a series of columns "Hundred Questions about Winter Olympics", which aims to popularize Winter Olympics knowledge, answer hot questions, share interesting stories about ice and snow, and help everyone have a better watching experience during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

　　The first issue today focuses on Beijing's successful bid.

　　On July 31, 2015, the 128th plenary meeting of the International Olympic Committee held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia voted that Beijing will stand out among the bidding cities by virtue of its own advantages and become the host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

So, in this bid process, from which cities did Beijing stand out?

　　In the process of bidding, Beijing faced a lot of competitors. At the beginning, it clearly proposed the bid and potential bids were Almaty in Kazakhstan, Oslo in Norway (which hosted the 6th Winter Olympics in 1952), Krakow in Poland, Lviv in Ukraine, Stockholm in Sweden, Munich in Germany, Davos in Switzerland, etc.

However, Munich, Germany and Davos, Switzerland have given up their bids.

　　On the deadline for the bid, the bidding cities were finally released, namely Almaty in Kazakhstan, Lviv in Ukraine, Krakow in Poland, Beijing in China, Stockholm in Sweden and Oslo in Norway.

The joining of the two Nordic cities has made the competition for the right to host the Winter Olympics even more intense.

　　However, Stockholm, Sweden and Krakow, Poland, withdrew their bids due to spending concerns and public opposition, respectively. Lviv, Ukraine and Oslo, Norway also withdrew due to financial concerns.

Data map: Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics emblem sculpture.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Hou Yu

　　In the end, Beijing’s only competitor was left in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

　　Almaty hosted the Asian Winter Games in 2011 and also hosted the World University Games in 2017.

It is worth mentioning that before bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Almaty had also bid for the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics, but they all ended in failure.

(Bian Liqun)