There has been a significant increase in the number of cities bidding to host the Olympic Winter Games – with twice as many joining the contest for 2022 compared to four years earlier.
LAUSANNE – Six cities have bid this time, all meeting the application deadline of midnight on 14 November. Listed in alphabetical order, the cities are: Almaty (Kazakhstan), Beijing (China), Krakow (Poland), Lviv (Ukraine), Oslo (Norway), and Stockholm (Sweden).
The strength of the field, which includes a strong mix of both traditional and developing winter sports markets, highlights the keen interest cities around the world have in the Games and the lasting benefits and legacy they can bring to a region.
“I am delighted that six cities are bidding to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games,” said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach. “These cities and their supporters clearly understand the benefits that hosting the Games can have and the long lasting legacy that a Games can bring to a region. Indeed, while recent Games have left an array of sporting, social, economic and other legacies for the local population, many cities that did not go on to win the right to host the Games have also noted benefits as a result of their bids.”
As part of the assistance the IOC offers bid cities, the six Applicant Cities will be invited to attend a seminar in Lausanne from 4 to 6 December 2013 and to participate in an Observer Programme tailored to their needs during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
National Olympic Committees had until midnight on 14 November 2013 to submit an application to the IOC that complied with prerequisite criteria (declarations concerning the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Court of Arbitration for Sport) established by the IOC Executive Board in 2010. Having fulfilled these requirements, the six Applicant Cities now enter Phase 1 of a two-step technical analysis that culminates in the election of the 2022 host city by the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur on 31 July 2015.
At the end of Phase 1, and following a first assessment by an expert IOC Working Group, the IOC Executive Board will select the cities that will move forward to Phase 2 of the process as Candidate Cities.
Following the submission of their Candidature File – an in-depth blueprint of their Olympic project – an Evaluation Commission appointed by the IOC will visit each Candidate City to prepare a technical risk assessment to assist IOC members in electing the host city. This report will be made available to IOC members prior to a two-day briefing that provides the members with the opportunity to question the cities directly about their Olympic projects.
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