(ATR) Delegations from Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan are putting the final touches on key presentations that will be delivered to an expected 85 IOC members over the coming days in Lausanne.
In previous Olympic bidding contests, the cities’ briefing has been considered a game-changing moment ahead of the host city vote – and this one may be no different.
A large and diverse delegation will represent Beijing 2022, while a more modest, yet equally prominent team from Almaty 2022 will highlight bid details, while fielding questions from IOC members at the 2022 Candidate City Briefing, June 9-10.
The technical presentations will take place at the Olympic Museum on Tuesday and at the Lausanne Palace Hotel on Wednesday. In a change from previous candidate cities briefings, 2022 Evaluation Commission chairman Alexander Zhukov will also present and answer questions from IOC members.
The prime minister of Kazakhstan will make his first major contribution as chair of Almaty 2022 at the Olympic Candidate Cities Briefing.
Karim Massimov has barely figured in the Winter Olympic bid campaign for Almaty, but he is expected to make his presence felt in front of IOC members.
One week after the IOC´s Evaluation Commission report posed questions about financial issues and accommodations for Almaty, Massimov and his bid team will seek to drive home the Kazakh bid’s core strengths – a compact Games plan aligned with Agenda 2020, backed by the government and country and the guarantee of snow.
The Almaty bid in Lausanne also includes the city’s mayor Akhmetzhan Yessimov, NOC president Temirkhan Dosmukhambetov, sports minister Arystanbek Mukhamediuly, his deputy Saken Mussaibekov, bid vice chairman Andrey Kryukov and NOC secretary general Timur Dossymbetov,
Representing the country’s athletes are Sochi 2014 Olympic medalist Denis Ten and recently appointed IOC Athletes Entourage Committee member and chair of the Olympic Council of Asia Women and Sports Commission Natalya Sipovich.
Kryukov, who has been the face of the bid up till now, said Almaty 2022 had worked hard to improve its bidding concept based on the evaluation commission’s recommendations received from chairman Alexander Zhukov in March. He said the bid revamp has reduced the operational budget by more than $500,000.
"We know we have a great offer for the Olympic Movement – the most efficient and convenient Winter Games concept in over thirty years," Kryukov said, noting that 70 percent of the venues were ready today and 80 percent would be ready by 2017 for the Universiade.
"Almaty is a safe choice in terms of venues and infrastructure," he said. "We feel like a team in the hockey final of the Olympics now, fully concentrated, motivated and very much looking forward to present our wonderful city and the nature surrounding it to the IOC membership."
Beijing, which lacks experience hosting major international snow sport events, will need to convince the IOC that it can host events north of the city where snowfall is minimal and artificial snow will be necessary.
Leading the Beijing 2022 delegation will be Liu Yandong, the vice-premier for the State Council of China.
It is speculated that the Chinese contingent is in upwards of 250 staff, substantially larger than Almaty, spread out over four hotels.
The group includes technical experts, government representatives and athletes.
Deputy heads of the delegation include Wang Anshun, president of the Beijing 2022 Bid Committee and Liu Peng, president of the Chinese NOC.
Two-time Olympic short track champion and IOC member Yang Yang is also expected to play an integral role over the upcoming days.
"While we were undoubtedly encouraged by the IOC Evaluation Commission’s confirmation of Beijing 2022’s strengths such as an assured Games delivery and tremendous potential for winter sports, I would say there is a consensus throughout the entire team that there is much work left to be done," said Wang Hui, director of communications for Beijing 2022.
"At this stage in the bid, we need to focus now more than ever on communicating why Beijing is the right choice to host the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games," she said.
The briefing gets underway at the Olympic Museum on Tuesday (June 9) as the two bid cities are afforded 90 minutes, including a Q&A session, to highlight their bid projects for the 2022 Winter Games. Joining the IOC members will be leaders from the seven international winter sports federations.
Almaty takes the floor from 9–10:30 a.m., while Beijing is slated for 11 a.m – 12:30 p.m. The IOC members, winter IFs and evaluation commission will meet in the afternoon to internally discuss the presentations.
Zhukov, the Russian IOC member leading the commission, was spotted by Around the Rings arriving at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne on Monday afternoon.
The visit to Lausanne for the Beijing and Almaty delegations comes less than two months prior to the selection of a host city for the 2022 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 31.
Written by Brian Pinelliand Mark Bisson
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