Beijing to launch bid to co-host 2022 winter games

The Chinese Olympic Committee on Tuesday said Beijing and the nearby city of Zhangjiakou will launch a joint bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

If the bid succeeds, Beijing, which hosted the 2008 summer Olympics, will hold ice-based events while snow events will take place in Zhangjiakou, state media quoted the national Olympic committee as saying.

Local governments plan to build a high-speed rail link that will allow passengers to cover the 200 kilometres between the cities in around 40 minutes, reports said.

Zhangjiakou has already established winter sports resorts that are popular with tourists from Beijing and other northern Chinese cities.

Other cities considering bids to host the 2022 Winter Olympics include Munich, Oslo, Poland’s Krakow, Ostersund in Sweden and Lviv in Ukraine. Almaty in Kazakhstan has already announced its candidacy.

Bids must be submitted to the IOC by November 14. The host city is elected in 2015.