Beijing 2022: expertise, facilities, though natural snow a rarity

Handing the 2022 Winter Olympics to China’s capital Beijing was arguably one of the IOC’s most pragmatic decisions.

When the time came to vote, the pool of candidates had been reduced to just two: Beijing and Almaty, the capital of the landlocked Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, which had never hosted an event on such a scale and whose dependence on hydrocarbon exports was a worry.

Beijing, meanwhile, could skate on its record of hosting the highly praised 2008 Summer Olympics that equipped it with almost all the facilities needed to stage the indoor events for the Winter Games, such as ice hockey and figure skating.

That allowed the bid organizers to cater to IOC Chairman Thomas Bach’s drive for lower coasts and greater sustainability after the scandal over the $51 billion overall price tag associated with Sochi. Beijing estimates the total cost for operations and infrastructure at just $3 billion, while robust economic projections ensure strong support from the government and domestic sponsors.

In keeping with the theme of re-use, the Beijing Games organizing committee’s new offices are located in former iron ore storage silos at the former Capital Iron and Steel Works’ sprawling factory site in the capital’s western suburbs.

The Beijing Games have not been without their controversies, chief among them the lack of steep mountains and natural snowfall in the area directly surrounding the typically bone-dry capital. That has required organizers to locate some of the skiing events in the adjacent province of Hebei, with travel eased by new high-speed rail links.

Beijing’s heavy winter air pollution is also a concern, although city planners say the closure of factories and retirement of smoke-spewing vehicles will help. And while China’s ruling Communist Party continues to silence its opponents and repress Tibetans and other minorities, human rights doesn’t appear to be a major factor in the run-up to the games, just as they were mostly cast aside during the 2008 events.

Although China doesn’t have much of a Winter Olympics tradition, games organizers have touted the games as a driving force for public participation in hockey, skiing and other winter sports.

Associated Press reporters Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo and sports writer Stephen Wilson in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.