Instead of being held in the IOC Headquarters on the banks of Lake Geneva, it took place several kilometres away at the Hotel Starling. While the Alps nestling on the horizon and the youthful vigour of the Lausanne University Campus next door deemed it somewhat apt, it was certainly a lower key setting than the plush extravagance of the Sheraton and Hilton hotels where the 2020 race unfolded.

On that occasion anxiety, tension and last minute point scoring was the order of the day. In Lausanne it was also striking just how harmonious the event was. The six cities mingled together and there was warmth and at least some sincerity in their fledgling relations.

"We are all athletes beginning a training process," a member of the Lviv delegation explained, before adding that "we have a long journey together until we contest the competition itself."

Delegates from the six cities pose together as the three day Seminar opens
©IOC/Richard Juilliart 

The rivalries will certainly develop but the task for all six was about finding out what is expected from the IOC.

Over three days of presentations and meetings factors ranging from marketing, media and transport to sustainability, ethics and legacy were explained. As well as these technical aspects, there was also a "heavy emphasis placed on the fact that the organisation of the Games is very much a team effort" - with Governments, sports authorities, commercial partners and local populations among those relevant parties, the IOC explained.

When speaking to bid teams afterwards it was evident that many of these words had already struck a core.

The importance of Government support was one area which appeared particularly striking. In selecting Ukraine's vice-Prime Minister Oleksandr Vilkul as bid leader and Youth and Sport Minister Ravil Safiullin as their representative in Lausanne, Lviv reflected this the most.

But others were also quick to highlight the strength of support from the highest levels. With their bid being announced at such a late stage amid doubts over the strength of this backing it seems an area particularly important for Stockholm to address.

Geography was another often cited aspect. While it was first presented as a "dual bid", Krakow were toning down this rhetoric - no doubt due to awareness of the IOC's disapproval of such joint attempts. A Polish bid but with events in Slovakia for "topographical and geographical reasons," bid leader Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak explained. Beijing also attempted to play down the 200 kilometres distance between its two proposed venues of Beijing and Zhangjiakou while others contrastly emphasised the "compact" nature of their bids.

The spectre of the London 2012, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 Games were also hanging over proceedings.

Given the sleepless nights likely to be endured by IOC members in the run up to Rio 2016 over the completion of facilities, applicants were careful to emphasise their organisational experience and the number of facilities already in place.

The extravagant rhetoric employed by Sochi throughout their campaign also appears to have been toned down. Applicants were not talking about a "low cost" or an austerity Games but, in a sign of the times no doubt, it appears being the "safe option" is imperative. It is by positioning itself this way of course that Tokyo proved so successful in the 2020 race.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that the "London Games legacy and sport" was on the itinerary for on the first day of the seminar, it was the lessons of the Olympics hosted in the British capital which shone through the most.

Much of this focus lay on the use of the Games to inspire more youth to take up sport. Thankfully, the phrase "inspiring a generation" was not used directly, but it might as well have been given the indirect references. A legacy beyond sport but for local people was also spoken about - from logistical improvements in the realms of highways, airports and accommodation to a greater international profile for both city and country.

When he opened the seminar, IOC President Bach spoke about the importance of "unique circumstances" and a clear vision in a successful bid. It is through legacy that this vision seems most likely to be found.

Following on from the success of London 2012 was a theme emphasised during the Seminar ©Getty Images


As in the final stages of the 2020 campaign, where failed drugs tests, political protests and leaking nuclear reactors were the foremost topics of conversation, external factors are set to play a role. All six cities indeed face challenges which are essentially outside the direct control of the bid team.

For Beijing and to a lesser extent Almaty challenges relate to timing and geography. With Pyeongchang 2018 and Tokyo 2020 to be held nearby, is a third Asian Games in a row a serious possibility? Furthermore, is it too soon for another Chinese Games following the extravaganza that was Beijing 2008?

Given recent events in Ukraine, political protest will be another important factor. With opposition rallies gripping the capital Kyiv over the weekend, the country appears stuck more than ever between a "strategic partnership" with Russia and an "association agreement" with the European Union.

The Lviv team, in a repeat of Istanbul's strategy during similar protests during the 2020 campaign, insisted that this was  "part of a political process, which should not in any way affect our bid." But if the situation remains unresolved it could certainly dog their 2022 campaign.

For the three other European applicants it is economic factors which are likely to pose the sternest questions. While Norway, Sweden and Poland are far from the worst hit nations questions remain over whether it is appropriate to bid for the Olympics in the current continental climate. Even Oslo, seen generally as the marginal favourite at this stage, has problems with national support and must do more to draw the total population behind their bid, an official admitted.

The economic problems which have fermented protests in Greece, but also throughout Europe, could be a challenge for the 2022 bid cities ©AFP/Getty Images


Yet It is important to remember just how early in the application process we currently are. Most bids have not yet appointed an official leader, and some had not even produced such mundane things as business cards at this stage.

By July 2015 everything might have changed and all these external factors might be irrelevant, It is worth remembering that press and public support for London's 2012 campaign was not high until soon before the 2005 IOC Session in Singapore. And we all know what happened there.

But the process is underway. The IOC have now given their help and the six bids will next answer a detail questionnaire which will be submitted as part of their application files next March. These applications are then due to be considered the in the Spring before the candidate cities are shortlisted at an Executive Board Meeting in July.

By that stage the process is unlikely to be either low key or harmonious and the rarely trodden path from Lausanne to Kuala Lumpa will prove just as exciting and unpredictable as it will hazardous.

Perhaps the most important thing I have learnt so far in this business is the ill advised nature of rash predictions. So instead of doing exactly that at this earliest of stages it seems more appropriate, if also more cowardly, to sit back and enjoy the ride ahead as the roller-coaster that is a host city campaign takes every twist and turn in the months ahead. 

Nick Butler is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here