IOC report identifies pros, cons of potential 2022 Winter Games hosts

The International Olympic Committee has issued a detailed evaluation of the two cities vying to host the 2022 Winter Games, giving each candidate a mix of praise and criticism.

The 137-page report on Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan was issued Monday in accordance with procedures set forth by the IOC’s Agenda 2020 reform package.

Beijing got high marks for reliability and Almaty scored well for the compactness and efficiency of its planned venues.

As for concerns, the IOC’s evaluation commission noted that, for Beijing, “the Zhangjiakou and Yanqing zones have minimal annual snowfall and for the Games would rely completely on artificial snow.”

Kazakhstan’s economy was equally worrisome, with the country heavily dependent on a fluctuating oil market.

“The evaluation commission has made sure that its report gives an accurate, objective and fair assessment of each of the two candidate cities,” said Alexander Zhukov, the commission’s chairman. “We have engaged in an open and interactive dialogue with each city and laid out strong foundations for future collaboration regardless of which city wins in July.”

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