Beijing, Zhangjiakou Bid for 2022 Winter Olympics

[amoy]

Beijing, Zhangjiakou Bid for 2022 Winter Olympics - ABC News

Beijing and the northern Chinese city of Zhangjiakou are bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The Chinese Olympic Committee sent a formal nomination letter to the International Olympic Committee on Sunday and the bid is supported by the Chinese government, China's official news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday.

"The China Olympic Committee believes that Beijing and Zhangjiakou have the natural conditions and infrastructure to successfully host the Winter Olympics," the committee said in a statement.

"The bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics will further improve the development of the Chinese Olympic cause, display the comprehensive power of China and push forward the coordinated development of the economies of the two cities," it said.

Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. Under the 2022 bid plans, Beijing would hold the ice events.

Zhangjiakou, a city surrounded by mountains with ski resorts 100 miles northwest of Beijing in the neighboring province of Hebei, would host the snow events. There are many hotels being built in the valley towns serving the ski resorts.

A high speed train line linking the two cities is scheduled to open next year, with a journey time between the two of 40 minutes.

Nov. 14 is the deadline for submission of bids to the IOC.

China has bid previously for the Winter Olympics. The northeast city of Harbin failed to make the short list of finalists in the race for the 2010 Winter Games, which went to Vancouver.

Almaty, Kazakhstan, has already officially lodged a 2022 bid. Other potential contenders include Oslo, Norway; Munich; Lviv, Ukraine; and a joint bid from Poland and Slovakia. Barcelona has decided not to bid.

The IOC will select the 2022 host city in 2015.

The chances of Asia getting the games in 2022 would seem remote, as Pyeongchang, South Korea, will host the 2018 Winter Games and Tokyo will stage the 2020 Summer Olympics

Zhangjiakou

 

[Ray]

Experts advise caution over Winter Olympics bid

Hosting the Olympic Games again would be great, but proceed with caution, sports experts warned as Beijing announced its ambition to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Five years after the spectacular 2008 Summer Olympics, the Chinese Olympic Committee announced on Tuesday that Beijing and the nearby city of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province will launch a joint bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

If the bid is successful, Beijing will become the first city in the world to host both the Summer and Winter Games.

However, pundits suggest the government should tread carefully.

"It will be a huge challenge, as Beijing is not an internationally recognized winter sports destination," said Zhang Qing, CEO of sports marketing and consulting company Key-Sports.

"Without the natural conditions and winter game infrastructure that cities in northeastern China have, Beijing won't be a competent candidate, even with the great Olympic legacy of the 2008 Games."

Zhangjiakou is about 203 kilometers northwest of Beijing. It boasts long winters with six months of snow and has emerged as a winter tourism spot in northern China. An intercity railway line has been planned to connect the city with Beijing, reducing travel time between the two locations to around 40 minutes.

Nov 14 is the deadline for submission of bids to the IOC.

China has bid previously for the Winter Olympics. The northeast city of Harbin failed to make the short list of finalists in the race for the 2010 Winter Games, which went to Vancouver.

Almaty, Kazakhstan, has already officially lodged a 2022 bid. Other potential contenders include Oslo, Norway; Munich; Lviv, Ukraine; and a joint bid from Poland and Slovakia. Barcelona has decided not to bid.

The IOC will select the 2022 host city in 2015.

The chances of Asia getting the games in 2022 would seem remote, as Pyeongchang, South Korea, will host the 2018 Winter Games and Tokyo will stage the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Some experts are already identifying potential hurdles down the road.

Lin Xianpeng, a sports industry professor at Beijing Sport University, said that the general public might be suspicious of the plan in light of increased scrutiny of government spending and the current official drive to cut back on extravagant celebrations on the part of officials.

"People overdosed on Olympic passion in 2008, and I doubt whether the public will feel as much enthusiasm as they did for the last Games in Beijing. The expectation that the Olympic influence will boost the sports industry and public fitness levels is also lower," said Lin.

Experts advise caution over Winter Olympics bid|China|chinadaily.com.cn

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The above is from China Daily, which claims to be China gateway to the world and vice versa.

 

[nimo_cn]

China Daily has made a good point, i am not interested at all!

Sent from my HUAWEI T8951 using Tapatalk 2

 

[t_co]

I have no idea why they'd do Beijing or Zhangjiakou. Why not do it at Yabuli, which has already hosted the 3rd Asian Winter Games, or Tianshan International, which has the highest vertical drop of any Chinese ski slope (and is a great way to stick it to Rebiya Kadeer?)

 

[amoy]

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/arti...akou-dreams-hosting-2022-winter-olympic-games
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 09 February, 2014, 4:13am

A scene like this - at Wanlong Ski Resort - could take place on the hills outside Zhangjiakou if the city wins its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Photo: Zhang Gang

Zhangjiakou has the grim complexion of many small Chinese cities. Grey cement complexes loom over crowded shopping malls while its narrow streets teem with German and Japanese cars.

But this little place 200 kilometres to the northwest of Beijing has greater ambitions. Local officials want to welcome athletes from the world over to ski down its slopes in nearby Chongli county. The former military base hopes to join Beijing in hosting the Winter Olympics in 2022.

The bid is part of Beijing's greater quest to foster economic development in the city in Hebei province.

"Our ultimate goal is to develop Zhangjiakou into a world-class tourism destination, a Davos of the east," says Zhang Chunsheng, director of Zhangjiakou's bid office for the 2022 Winter Olympics. As if to echo his words, the city has decorated its streets with snowflake-shaped lights and huge billboards that broadcast the lofty desires of the county: "Chongli: Davos of the east!"

Local officials say the region's ambitions are not so odd. Zhangjiakou once played international roles, first as a gateway to Russia and Mongolia in China's booming horse and fur trade. Later, the city served as a garrison to ward off encroachment from the Soviet Union.

Few Chinese know that the city hosted sports in ancient China, such as the hammer, rope skipping and wrestling.

With a population of 4.7 million people, Zhangjiakou is competing with rival cities which have a more golden winter sports shine. Norway's capital Oslo benefited when the nearby city of Lillehammer hosted the 1994 games. Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, staged the 2011 Asian Winter Games, seen as good preparation for hosting a Winter Olympics.

"Who knows?" Zhang says. "Lillehammer was once unknown like Zhangjiakou. So was Sochi. We have a chance."

Because the 2018 Winter Olympics will be hosted by Pyeongchang in South Korea, some fear that the Olympic Committee will not choose another Asian city.

Qin Bo, associate professor in the School of Urban Planning at Renmin University in Beijing, thinks otherwise.

"Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games has proved the capability of the city and increases the attractiveness of China," he says. "Let's see how Beijing and Zhangjiakou can play with their ambition."

Beijing is an international metropolis with abundant resources. What favours Zhangjiakou is its precipitation. It has mainly snow.

Snowfall is especially heavy in Chongli county between November and April. Annual snowfall is just over 100 centimetres. It often starts one month earlier in the mountains of Chongli than in comparative regions in Japan and Korea.

The ski industry started on "the snow slope of Zhangjiakou" in 1996 when the first resort opened in Saibei.

Wanlong Ski Resort became the most profitable local ski business after it opened in 2003. Foreign investment came later. The largest ski business, Genting Resort Secret Garden, opened in 2012, infused with money from the Malaysia-based Genting Group.

Gary Grant, the Genting resort's chief operating officer, says that naming the city an Olympic host will accelerate the region's booming ski business. The resort hosted the International Ski Federation alpine skiing race last year, and has attracted foreign trainers from Europe, the US, Japan and Kazakhstan this year. Nearby Wanlong Ski Resort has hosted a dozen skiing races, including international events.

The Genting resort has the ability to manufacture snow - crucial when the climate fails to co-operate during sporting events. It is also a requirement that the International Olympic Committee demands. During the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the city had to make artificial snow after it struggled through a mild winter.

And the fake white stuff has great training benefits. "Man-made snow this season is more ideal for training because the snow is more solid and consistent under motion and pressure," Grant says.

Richard Boon, 26, started coaching at Wanlong this winter. Originally from England, he has skied in Oslo. So he was surprised to learn that Zhangjiakou was bidding for a Winter Olympics.

"You'd never get a hint from the appearance of Zhangjiakou that it has its eyes on the Olympics," he says "But why not go for it?"

An outline of the skiing venues proposed for a Zhangjiakou Olympic bid. Photo: Xinhua

Even though the winning city won't be chosen until next summer, Zhangjiakou is wasting no time getting ready. Wanlong Ski Resort's main hotel can host more than 300 guests and its owners are building another hotel to accommodate 1,000. Many more hotels and restaurants are under construction.

Housing prices have been rising since winter sports arrived in Zhangjiakou and Chongli. A decade ago, apartments sold for 1,000 yuan (HK$1,270) per square metre. Prices have quadrupled. It is said that bidding for the Winter Olympics will drive home prices even higher.

To grow a Winter Games culture - and build excitement for the Olympics bid - Zhangjiakou and local ski resorts issued low-cost tickets to coax local residents onto the slopes. The city plans to start teaching local elementary students to ski, hoping it might identify future athletes.

The high-rise nature of the city. Photo: Simon Song

Despite its enthusiasm, Zhangjiakou has some major hosting challenges. Using current highways and railways, it would take athletes, coaches and spectators about three hours to get there from Beijing and another hour to drive to Chongli county. In late 2010 the government announced it would build a high-speed rail line from Beijing to Zhangjiakou, shortening travel time to 40 minutes. Construction is scheduled to finish in 2017.

As it prepares its Olympic application, due in March, the city is conscious of previous failures. Last year the central government rejected a bid by Harbin to host the Winter Games. Some Chinese officials say Harbin's average winter temperature of minus 38 degrees Celsius is too cold for athletes to compete well. Chongli county's average is minus 18 degrees.

Zhangjiakou must negotiate several turns on the course to Olympic glory. Candidates will be winnowed in July. There will be another evaluation in a year's time and the final vote will take place in July 2015.

Zhang says that despite the result, the process of bidding for the Winter Olympics will help promote the city's businesses and broaden the ambitions of local residents.

"After all," he says, "it is the Olympic spirit to compete."

 

[amoy]

zhangjiakou

 

[amoy]

http://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-president-encourages-2022-applicant-cities-to-get-creative/218309

Delegates from the six cities vying to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games will return home equipped with valuable insight into the bidding process following a three-day Applicant City Seminar hosted by the International Olympic Committee that concluded today in Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland.

Led by Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli and Head of Bid City Relations Jacqueline Barrett, the seminar focused on a range of important themes and requirements, in particular legacy and sustainability, which the representatives from Almaty (Kazakhstan), Beijing (China), Krakow (Poland), Lviv (Ukraine), Oslo (Norway) and Stockholm (Sweden)* were encouraged to adapt to fit their local needs to best serve their cities, regions and nations.

Thinking outside the box
Speaking at the seminar, IOC President Thomas Bach called on the delegates to be creative with their bid projects and engage as soon as possible with their respective publics to explain the benefits hosting the Games could bring and to build support. "The IOC has a great deal of excellent information and know-how to pass on to Applicant Cities but they should also be confident enough in their projects not to restrict themselves solely to the blueprints of the past", he said.

 

[amoy]

Krakow withdraws 2022 Winter Olympics bid

Krakow's decision comes six weeks before the IOC executive board meets in Lausanne, Switzerland, to select a short list of finalists. With so much uncertainty, it's possible the IOC could be left with only two uncontested bids.

The fate of two other bids - Lviv and Oslo - also remains in the balance.

Almaty and Beijing are the only two bids that have avoided turmoil. Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, is seeking to become the first city to stage both summer and winter games. Almaty, bidding for a second time, is the commercial capital of the oil-rich former Soviet republic in central Asia..

Potential host cities have been scared off by the $51 billion overall price tag associated with the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Much of that money went to long-term regeneration projects for the Sochi region, but that has not alleviated the concerns

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/krakow-withdraws-2022-winter-olympics-113504545--spt.html

 

[amoy]

Logo for Beijing + Zhangjiakou campaign

A big Chinese character for WINTER

2022 Winter Olympics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[killing029]

the first time i see the logo of winter olm games

 

[amoy]

the first time i see the logo of winter olm games

Actually all 3 remaining contenders for 2022 Winter at 2022 Winter Olympics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oslo

Almaty

Beijing + Zhangjiakou

 

[amoy]

BBC Sport - Winter Olympics: Oslo set to quit 2022 bidding race

In a statement, Christophe Dubi, the International Olympic Committee's executive director of the Olympic Games, said: "This is a missed opportunity for the City of Oslo and for all the people of Norway who are known worldwide for being huge fans of winter sports.

"And it is mostly a missed opportunity for the outstanding Norwegian athletes who will not be able to reach new Olympic heights in their home country."

Then only Almaty and Beijing+Zhangjiakou stay in the bid.

 

[stockbrokers]

where is Almaty?

 

[amoy]

where is Almaty?

sarcasm or not, Almaty was the capital of Kazakhstan (now Astana the capital).

Sent from my 5910 using Tapatalk 2

 

[amoy]

Beijing emerges as 2022 Winter Olympics favorite

The new front-runner to host the 2022 Winter Olympics doesn't have a long winter sports tradition. Then there's the matter of snow, or lack thereof. The mountains near Beijing where Olympic bidders want to hold skiing events receive less than a meter (3 feet) of snow each winter.

But what increasingly matters in the race for the 2022 Games is money, and China has plenty of that. Combined with political will and strong public support, Beijing looks like the strongest bidder left to host an Olympics that few other cities seem to want.

A year ago, Beijing was considered a long shot to land the 2022 Games, particularly with other Asian countries already lined up to host the next two Olympics - the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.

But then public opposition and financial concerns in Europe began whittling the field of candidates one by one. St. Moritz/Davos and Munich dropped proposed bids after they were rejected in referendums in Switzerland and Germany. Stockholm; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo, Norway, all dropped out of the race.

Suddenly, Beijing is in a two-city race with Almaty, Kazakhstan, another of the early long-shots. The host city will be selected next July at an International Olympic Committee assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Olympics, is seeking to become the first city to host both the summer and winter games.

The promotional blitz has already begun. Last Friday, the Beijing bid committee unveiled a Facebook page and Twitter feed and released a video depicting scenes of victorious Chinese athletes at previous Winter Games and an animation of a planned high-speed rail line that will connect venues in the city with those in the mountains in just 50 minutes.

Public opinion in some European cities turned against bidding for the Olympics in light of the $51 billion price tag associated with the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. While the operational costs were in line with previous games, Russia built all its venues from scratch and spent heavily on long-term infrastructure projects.

The Beijing bid committee notes on its website that "these are not problems for us."

"We have strong political support, economic strength, the public support of hundreds of millions and a stable domestic situation," the committee wrote in an editorial republished on Chinese sports websites. "These are precisely what a host city for the Winter Olympics should have."

The Winter Olympics should also have snow, and this is one of the major challenges for the mountains northwest of Beijing, where Alpine skiing events would be held, and the mountains near the city of Zhangjiakou, the proposed site for Nordic skiing.

"The winters are extremely cold and extremely dry," said Fabio Ries, the Italian co-founder of the Duolemeidi Mountain Resort, which opened near Zhangjiakou in 2006. "When it snows, the landscape is white, basically for the whole winter. But the snow coverage itself is pretty poor."

Ries said none of the ski resorts in the area could operate without man-made snow, but this presents another problem: a severe water shortage in northern China that ski resorts have been blamed for exacerbating. Friends of Nature, an environmental NGO, estimated in a 2011 report that the 17 resorts use at least 1 million tons of water every year - the equivalent of 8,300 households.

"Beijing has been so dry in recent years, the ski resorts must draw water from underground reserves," said Li Xiang, associate editor in chief of the Friends of Nature report. "It's a very big waste."

Another concern is Beijing's notorious air pollution. Although the government successfully cleared the skies for the 2008 Olympics by closing factories and enacting severe traffic restrictions, pollution has been a concern at other sports events in recent years.

During the recent Tour of Beijing cycling race, one of the mountain stages had to be shortened. Before a Brazil vs. Argentina soccer friendly, Brazil players were ordered to stay in their hotel except for training sessions. The smog was so bad at an LPGA tournament last year that some golfers wore face masks on the course.

The Beijing bid committee played down the concerns, blaming foreigners for creating the mocking nickname "gray Beijing."

"Although it's said in jest, it's worthy of reflection," it said. "But linking the haze to the Winter Olympics in a negative way exaggerates the problem."

China has become a force at recent Winter Games in figure skating, short-track and speed skating and freestyle skiing. In other sports, though, it lags far behind. In Sochi, only two Chinese athletes qualified in Alpine skiing and their best result was Xia Lina's next-to-last-place finish in the women's giant slalom. The Chinese didn't fare much better in biathlon or cross-country skiing.

"In certain sports, we do have a strong presence, but in other sports, there's a huge gap. You can't name a downhill skier and there's not even a bobsled team," said Li Sheng, founder and CEO of SECA Worldwide, a Shanghai-based sports marketing company that has worked with the Chinese Olympic Committee and Chinese Winter Sports Federation.

Though participation rates in sports such as Alpine skiing and ice hockey are still relatively low compared with some countries, they are growing quickly as the Chinese middle class expands. According to the Chinese Ski Association, there were fewer than 10,000 skiers in the country in 1996; estimates now put that number above 5 million.

Li believes these numbers could spike if Beijing gets the 2022 Games. Already, he said, the highway to Zhangjiakou is jammed on Friday afternoons in winter with Beijing residents going away for ski weekends. On the day Beijing submitted its Olympic bid, Li estimated condo prices in the resort area rose by 100,000 renminbi (US $16,300).

"I think 2022 will definitely help change a generation by promoting winter sports in a way that only a Winter Olympics can," Li said. "The big challenge is how to embrace that opportunity."

------------------------------
Winter is less popular than Summer :shocked:

 

[amoy]

Beijing capable of hosting 2022 Winter Olympics: IOC official

The International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission said on Saturday that its five-day inspection visit to Beijing has assured members that the Chinese capital is capable of hosting a successful Winter Olympics in 2022.

Chaired by Russian IOC member Alexander Zhukov, the Evaluation Commission concluded its on-site assessment trip to Beijing and its co-host city Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, on Saturday by holding a wrap-up press conference in Beijing.

"The last five days have been incredibly informative and productive. We evaluated the Beijing bid in great detail by focusing on 15 themes, including the "Athletes' Experience" – a theme that was added by Olympic Agenda 2020," Zhukov said in his opening remarks.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2015-03/28/content_19939195.htm

 

[amoy]

Zhangjiakou：an Ice-snow City with Fabulous Ski Resorts
http://www.beijing-2022.cn/a/20150213/047723.htm#p=7

~~Still waters run deep. ~~from my MiPad using tapatalk

 

[amoy]

Live: Beijing wins the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games

Beijing has become the first city to host both Summer and Winter Olympic Games after beating Kazakhstan's Almaty to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics.

 

[blueblood]

While I agree that China has tons of money to spend but why this?

Russia spent an absurd amount of money with very little in return. Summer Olympics is a different thing all together. Better if some other city like Chengdu for example would have bid for Summer Olympics.

 

[nimo_cn]

While I agree that China has tons of money to spend but why this?

Russia spent an absurd amount of money with very little in return. Summer Olympics is a different thing all together. Better if some other city like Chengdu for example would have bid for Summer Olympics.

the budget for 2022 winter Olympic is gonna be 1/27 of the money China spent on 2008 summer Olympic, at least CCP is learning about saving some pennies.

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