Representatives of both campaigns handed their so called "bid books" to the IOC at its headquarters in Lausanne today, a day ahead of the January 7 deadline.

Each bid city was encouraged to reflect the spirit of Olympic Agenda 2020 following the unanimous approval of the 40 recommendations at the 127th IOC Session in Monaco last month, with highlights including more flexibility in the bid process, a stronger emphasis on legacy, lower costs and improved sustainability.

Almaty was represented in Lausanne by vice-mayor of Almaty City, Zauresh Amanzholova; secretary general of National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Timur Dossymbetov; Almaty 2022 Bid Board member, Andrey Kryukov; Ilya Urazakov, director general of the State Foundation "Organising Committee of the International sports events"; and Oksana Rizanenko, IOC and International Federations Bid Relations director.

"This is an important day for the Central Asian region's winter sports enthusiasts and athletes," said Amanzholova.

"Almaty 2022 can be a catalyst for social, economic and sports growth in the region where winter sports facilities are badly needed.

"Many recommendations of Agenda 2020 were taken into consideration while developing the concept of the 2022 Winter Games.

"We believe our bid is a perfect fit with this new philosophy and brings essential benefits to the Almaty and Kazakhstani people."

Almaty, along with Beijing, submitted their Candidature Files to the IOC at its headquarters in Lausanne, led by the city's Vice-Mayor Zauresh Amanzholova (pictured in blue) ©IOC


Wang Anshun, President of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee and Mayor of Beijing, was among a cohort of Chinese representatives in the Olympic Capital as the Chinese city looks to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games.

"Today is an important moment for us and a key milestone in the bidding process as we presented our Candidature File to the IOC," said Anshun.

"Our Candidature File embodies the requirements of the IOC and the philosophy of Olympic Agenda 2020.

"The important concept of running athlete-centred, economical and sustainable Games will be represented well in our bid and actual organisation of the Games in 2022."

Beijing is considered the clear favourite to be named host of the 2022 Winter Games in a race that initially attracted six candidates.

This was whittled down to two with the withdrawal of Stockholm, Krakow, Lviv, and Oslo due a a combination of lack of public support, political disruptions and worries over the rising cost of the Olympics.

The IOC has informed the Candidate Cities that the 2022 host city can anticipate a contribution from the IOC to the success of the Games of an overall estimated value of $880 million (£570 million/€740 million).

This contribution consists of a share of the revenues from marketing programmes run by the IOC; a contribution related to broadcast revenues; services provided by Olympic Broadcasting Services as the host broadcaster of the Games; and assistance provided to the Organising Committee by the IOC and related entities.

The Beijing bid for the 2022 Winter Games is being led by the Mayor of Beijing Wang Anshun, who handed the Candidature File to the IOC in Lausanne today ©Getty Images



The IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, chaired by Russian IOC member Alexander Zhukov, is due to analyse the Candidature Files and make on-site inspections of the two cities from February 14 to 18 for Almaty and March 24 to 28 for Beijing.

The host city for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games will then be elected at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur following a final presentation by the cities to the full IOC membership on July 31.

On the submissions, IOC President Thomas Bach said: "Today is an important day for the Olympic Winter Games in 2022 because we will now have the opportunity to see the vision of the two Candidate Cities.

"For the Candidate Cities, it is a unique opportunity to present their ideas about the organisation of the Olympic Winter Games, and for us a moment that we have been looking forward to for some time.

"Working with the two Candidate Cities, we will apply the first reforms which have been approved by the IOC members very recently in Monaco as part of our Olympic Agenda 2020 roadmap.

"This will be done through ongoing consultation with the Candidate Cities."

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