Even today, despite efforts by the government to encourage

Zhangjiakou Best Almaty to Host 2022 Winter Olympics

The final choice for canada goose black friday sale the host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics was uninspiring. One candidate, Beijing, which co bid with the lesser known Chinese city of Zhangjiakou, spent months trying to canada goose outlet store convince International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegates that its famously bad air not to mention lack of canada goose uk outlet natural snow shouldn scupper its chances.

The other contender, Almaty, boast lots of powdery stuff because of its canada goose outlet black friday positioning at the foothills of the Tian Shan range. (Almaty slogan, perhaps aimed at Beijing and its man made snow, was Keeping It Real.) But Kazakhstan former capital had to overcome a Canada Goose Coats On Sale serious obstacle: its obscurity, especially compared with a Chinese city of more than 20 million people.

The two candidates shared other weaknesses: neither has much in the way of global winter wonderland appeal. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev claimed a 98% victory in this year polls but the long Canada Goose Outlet serving leader has a habit of muzzling the media and jailing his opponents.

On July 31, at a secret vote by around 85 IOC members in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the 2022 Winter Olympics were awarded to the oddmakers favorite, Beijing. After all, the Chinese capital had successfully hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. No one doubts China ability to build needed infrastructure within seven years. can only be one winner, said IOC President Thomas Bach, in a razzle dazzle ceremony, complete with soaring canada goose outlet parka music. Xi, in his video campaign, had already projected that Beijing 2022, https://www.fanclub-fulton-smith.de the 24th Winter Olympics, would be extraordinary and excellent. polling was marred by technical doubts in which the initial vote by electronic tablet was considered possibly lacking in forcing IOC members to vote again by written ballots. Previous canada goose outlet shop IOC ballots, including one in which Beijing lost to Sydney by two votes Canada Goose Parka for the canada goose outlet right to host the 2000 Summer Games, were marred by vote buying scandals. The IOC vowed to root out corruption within its ranks. Late last year, the powerful group also unveiled reforms designed to limit the budget overruns that have plagued recent host cities.

The IOC was left with Beijing/Zhangjiakou and Almaty by default, after cities such as Oslo and Stockholm pulled themselves out of the race because of financial concerns. (Lviv bid was derailed by war in Ukraine.) Olympics may bring global prestige but they have a habit of saddling host cities with huge bills and sporting facilities that rust away after the crowds disperse. The 2014 Sochi Olympics, for instance, cost Russia an estimated $50 billion.

For 2022, Beijing and Almaty gave estimates of canada goose outlet toronto factory $3 5 billion (including some infrastructure not specifically for the Games) but Olympic cities rarely stick to their budgets. Sochi overspent by $36 billion. Olympic Committee pulled the plug on Boston bid to host the 2024 Summer Games, after local opposition to the potential financial burden.

In the run up to the July 31 victory, Beijing brought out Chinese icons like towering basketball legend Yao Ming to promise that the Games would be Other former Olympians gave assurances about Beijing air, which city officials said had improved by around 15% in the first half months of 2015, compared to the same period last year. will improve the air quality not only for the Games but also for the demand of our people, said Shen Xue, a pairs figure skating gold medalist, according to Chinese state cheap canada goose uk newswire Xinhua. matter whether we win the bid or not, we will take efforts to improve the air quality.

Chinese Olympic officials vowed that snow making canada goose outlet store uk efforts would be in a chronically parched region. To speed the journey to the ski slopes of Zhangjiakou, which are around 200 km from downtown Beijing, city planners have promised to build a high speed rail system that will transport athletes in less than an hour a third of the time it now takes. In other countries such a project might seem overwhelming. But this is a country that has already expanded its national rail network in record time.

Beijing 2022 bid slogan was translated in English as Joyful Rendezvous Upon Pure Ice and Snow. (It sounds better in Mandarin.) President Xi has enthused about the potential for winter sports canada goose jacket outlet development in his homeland just imagine, 1.3 billion lugers, biathletes and uk canada goose curlers, if Xi estimate canada goose outlet reviews of future winter sports enthusiasts is to be believed. Still, sports are not integrated into daily life in China as they are in, say, Brazil or even India. Zhangjiakou, where Olympic snowboarding, biathlon and certain skiing events will take place, has developed resorts for aspiring Beijing skiers but it was traditionally better known for fur production.

The Beijing 2008 Olympics were expertly choreographed and allowed China to proclaim its rising super power status. China won 51 gold medals, more than any other country. The medal haul was all the more impressive given that China won just five gold medals two decades before in Seoul. But the Beijing Olympics suffered from a fun deficit. Compared to other Games, there were fewer public venues where locals could gather canada goose outlet uk to watch the competition on TV and rejoice in China sporting glory; some residents resorted to peering through a cheap canada goose metal fence at the lavish canada goose store venues. Even today, despite efforts by the government to encourage nationwide fitness, school sports remain underfunded for children who aren being cultivated as potential Olympians. (Chinese kids need to spend more time cramming for tests.)

The fact that China has already hosted an Olympics and made history may explain why the domestic reaction to the 2022 race was relatively canada goose outlet jackets muted. On Friday morning, a corruption investigation of a retired People Liberation Army general generated more cyberspace comment than the Winter Olympics vote. International human rights campaigners, however, used the occasion to canada goose black friday sale highlight human rights violations in both candidate nations. China or Kazakhstan wins the honor of hosting the 2022 Winter Games, the IOC will face an extreme test of its new commitment to improve human rights protections, said Minky Worden, Global Initiatives director at Human Rights Watch, before the final vote. International Olympic Committee should insist that the host country rigorously comply with the Olympic Charter and basic human rights rules or risk losing the right to host the games.