Lack of natural snow is considered as a challenge for Beijing's bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, while its sole competitor, Kazakhstan's Almaty, has plenty of natural snow and real winter conditions.
Indeed, snow is a must for the running of the Winter Olympics, but it doesn't just take snow to make the Games happen. In addition to snow, solid funding, strong public support and rich winter event operation experience are all prerequisite to a qualified host city.
Despite concerns of lack of natural snow, Beijing has all key elements in place to stage successful Winter Games.
First of all, the Beijing 2022 bid is fully in line with the spirit of the Olympic Agenda 2020 with an athlete-centered, sustainable and economical Games concept.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has spoken highly of Beijing's maximum use of strong existing facilities.
The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, described as "truly exceptional" by then IOC president Jacques Rogge, has left dozens of first-class venues in the city. Many of them including the iconic Water Cube and the National Indoor Stadium have been proposed to stage ice events should the Chinese capital win the 2022 bid.
Beijing has also enlisted full government support and significantly high public support for the 2022 bid. According to an opinion poll conducted by the IOC, 92% of Chinese residents nationwide, 88% of the Beijing residents and 93% of Hebei province, support the bid.
It's stunning to see such a high public support in a country of over 1.3 billion people. The sincerity, ardor and expectation for the Olympics from Chinese people have already impressed the IOC.
China has pledged to increase participation in winter sports and establish a full year-round sports tradition. If Beijing wins the bid, it will offer the Olympic Movement a huge opportunity to grow winter sports in one of the world's largest markets, further spreading the Olympic values among more than 300 million local residents and beyond.
Moreover, Beijing's quick and efficient transportation, world-class hotels, cosmopolitan cuisine and spectacular sightseeing will provide for a truly joyful Games experience upon pure ice and snow where spectators would be able to enjoy winter sports scenery and the drive of a modern cosmopolitan city all in one day, with stunning views of the Great Wall providing for a unique setting for snow competitions.
Back to the snow concerns, experts believe that the climate conditions in Zhangjiakou's Chongli county, where cross country, freestyle and other skiing events would be held if Beijing wins the bid, won't be a concern.
All the seven International Federations for winter sports confirmed that Beijing and Chongli's conditions were Okay for the Winter Olympics following their fact-finding visits to the proposed venue sites last winter.
In case of lack of natural snow, both Yanqing and Chongli have abundant supply of water for snow-making and ideal geological and weather conditions.
