In their latest effort to push forward their bids for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Beijing and the Kazakh city of Almaty, the only two cities in the running, made their final presentations on Tuesday in Switzerland to members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The two bid committees presented their maps and plans to around 85 IOC members at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Each city was given 45 minutes to explain their plan for the games, with another 45 minutes given over to a question and answer session.
Ding Bocheng, a senior consultant for the Zhangjiakou Bidding Office of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, told the Global Times that the presentation, together with the conclusions of a recent evaluation report, will determine the result of the July 31 meeting in Kuala Lumpur at which the commission is set to decide on the host.
The Lausanne meeting, which takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, comes days after the commission published a report which said that both cities are almost neck and neck in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.
"Both of the two cities have their advantages, but the report indicates that Beijing may present a lower risk as the host of the Games as it has presented more detailed plans to address its weaknesses," Ding noted.
Ding pointed out that the IOC report expressed concerns over both cities' poor air quality, but Beijing has adopted more concrete steps to address its shortcomings.
In 2013, Beijing authorities unveiled a five-year action plan that outlines measures the city will take to tackle air pollution by 2017.
Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Summer Games, hopes to become the first city to organize both the summer and winter Olympic Games.
The Chinese capital may have an advantage over Almaty as it is a more international city, Ren Hai, an Olympic studies expert with Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times.
"The games require ... both the comprehensive ability and international influence needed to spread the values of the Olympics," Ren said.
