The semi-final of the 2016 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group between will take place at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena from 16-18 September 2016 – and the host nation is upbeat about the benefits the event will bring.
The decision by the Lawn Tennis Association to host the tie between the Aegon GB team and Argentina follows Scotland’s successful hosting of Davis Cup matches last year.
“Scotland was delighted to host the Davis Cup first round and semi-final in 2015 and, on both occasions, the support at The Emirates proved why Scotland is the perfect stage for events of this magnitude,” Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events tells Host City.
“I have no doubt that this year’s semi-final against Argentina, which we are supporting through EventScotland’s International Programme, will be no different and expect tennis fans from across the UK and further afield to travel to Glasgow as Great Britain attempts to retain its Davis Cup title.”
The international appeal of the event is particularly attractive proposition for the host nation. 
“For Scotland as host nation, and Glasgow at a local level, major occasions such as this are hugely valuable. The sell-out matches in 2015 saw a total attendance of more than 47,000, with a significant proportion of those people, 31% and 42% respectively, travelling from outside of Scotland. We expect similar interest in September’s fixture, meaning, again, Scotland is set to benefit from the associated economic impact that this influx of visitors brings.
“Additionally, for both Scotland and Glasgow, the prospect of staging such an important match means an increase in exposure across all media formats both at home and abroad. In terms of reinforcing Scotland’s capability in staging world-leading events and promoting Scotland as a tourist destination, raising the nation’s profile in this way is critical.”
Tennis, along with cricket golf, basketball and athletics, is attracting more participants. According to statistics released in July by SportScotland, sports participation has risen over the last two years, with sports club membership rising from 706,764 to 768,212 since 2013/14. 
Scotland hosting the Davis Cup is set to increase this trend – particularly given that last year’s winners and Scottish brothers Andy and James Murray are currently on top form.
“The timing of the match lends itself to generating further legacy benefits by encouraging more young people to become involved in sport,” says Bush. 
“After Andy Murray’s second victory at Wimbledon, Jamie Murray’s continued success as one of the world’s best doubles players and shortly following tennis in the Rio Olympics, we are confident the Davis Cup can further inspire youngsters to take up tennis and become more active. This is vital for the development of the sport in Scotland and in encouraging young Scots to lead healthier lifestyles.”
 

Berlin, Germany, will stage the 2018 European Para Athletics Championships, the sport’s global governing body IPC Athletics has announced. More than 600 athletes from 40 countries are set to compete at the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark.
The event will take place between 20-26 August 2018, shortly after the 2018 European Athletics Championships, which takes place in Berlin from 7-12 August 2018 as part of the multi-sport “2018 European Championships” co-hosted with Glasgow from 1-12 August. 
The 2018 European Para Athletics Championships will be organised by IPC Athletics, the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Germany and Behinderten-und Rehabilitations-Sportband Berlin.
“We are very excited that the 2018 European Para Athletics Championships will be staged in the German capital, a city with an excellent track record for staging major athletics events” said Ryan Montgomery, the IPC’s Director of Summer Sports.
“The Championships will take place with roughly two years to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and will be one of the biggest Para athletics events of the year.
“This venue has successfully staged Grand Prix events for the last four years and has a reputation for delivering fast times and long distances. We have seen a number of world and regional records broken in Berlin over the last few years, and I expect to see many more in 2018 as the performance level of Para athletes continues to increase.
“We look forward to work with NPC of Germany and the Behinderten-und Rehabilitations-Sportband Berlin to deliver a hugely successful event.”
Friedhelm Julius Beucher, President of NPC Germany, said: “We are glad and proud that the German capital will host the next European Championships in 2018 – a competition that will take place exactly between the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
“We are convinced that Berlin will deliver excellent Championships and we hope for a big attention, especially because this competition will begin just after the European Championships for athletes without disabilities. It is our wish that there are many spectators who will certainly be fascinated by Para sport. I am sure that we will have a highlight in Berlin.”
First held in Assen, the Netherlands, in 2003, the European Championships have taken place every two years since 2012. Four years ago, Stadskanaal, the Netherlands, played host before the event moved to Swansea, Great Britain in 2014 and then Grosseto, Italy in 2016. The 2018 Championships in Berlin will be the sixth edition.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Berlin to host this great event. For all of us, volunteers and staff, this for sure will be an extraordinary time,” said Klaas Brose, Director of Behinderten-und Rehabilitations-Sportband Berlin.
 

Agenda One: Event Delivery
The first agenda is to deliver the Games; that is non-discretionary and something you have to do. The cost is given and it’s mandatory, because it’s the IOC requirements and there’s national pride involved and a number of other considerations. 
The cost of this has been remarkably constant over the last 15 years – around US$2.5bn to US$3bn. But that’s covered by income from IOC contributions, local sponsorship, ticket sales and merchandise so there is no net cost.  

Agenda Two: Sporting Legacy
The second agenda is leaving a sporting legacy. That is partly mandated by the IOC requirement, but you have some leeway on how you do that. So you have a choice of whether your stadiums and arenas are permanent structures, which always runs the risk of being white elephants, or temporary or demountable structures – or even, according to Agenda 2020, you can move it to another city. 
For example, if you don’t have a velodrome you have to deliver one somehow. And if you do it correctly, that can be a legacy – but there are lots of examples of not being a legacy: The Athens 2004 Games is the prime example of white elephants and a complete horror story.
The main issue with this second agenda is that venues should be designed for legacy and enabled for Games. Most people do it the other way round and then there’s a rush to modify it for legacy.
A positive example is the aquatics centre in London; we worked very closely with Zaha Hadid on that. It was designed to be a community swimming pool with 2,500 seats. Temporarily, those wings were built – they looked absolutely awful, but they were functional and it ended up being an Olympic-compliant aquatics centre of 17,500 seats. It was designed for legacy and enabled for the Games temporarily. 

Agenda Three: City Legacy
The third agenda is what you want to use the Olympics for and our advice to any city or region that wants to host the Games is that you first have to decide what you are going to use the Olympics for. And if you don’t get that right, you run into a lot of problems about public acceptance of the Olympics as a project.
This is where discretion comes into play. It cost London GB£1.8bn just to make the Olympic park into a building site. London made that call because it wanted to use the Olympics to regenerate part of East London. The city didn’t have to do it; they chose to do it because otherwise it would never happen; it would still be a dump with remnants from the blitz, asbestos, oil and corpses.
A bad example is Sochi. A lot of what happened in Sochi had nothing to do with the Olympics. It cost US$55bn, but only a fraction of that was Olympic costs. They wanted Sochi to be a tourist destination and they also wanted to be able to build for the football World Cup in 2018. So they wanted to use it for something completely different from the Winter Olympics. That was their choice and that has poisoned the bidding process for a number of other cities, including my home town of Oslo where the population got a backlash going against bidding for the 2022 Winter Games. 
Our advice to cities or regions who want to stage Olympic Games is to first of all to get the third agenda right, because that is what you need to sell it to the population, to get a yes vote on a possible referendum. It has to be something more tangible than a velodrome. 
What we like to do very early in the process is to make the city or region able to make an informed decision whether to bid or not. To do that they need to cost out all the three agendas. What we usually recommend is to do a number of technical and financial feasibility studies, cost-benefit analyses over 20 to 30 years. 
One city we have recently worked with is Amsterdam, who will probably not bid for the 2028 Olympic Games. And way back in 2002-2003 we wrote the original feasibility study that made a business case for London to bid for the Games. 

Beyond the Bid – Tokyo and Qatar
We also see our role to be the trusted technical advisor for a host city. We like to work in tandem with the communications agencies, because if you give them a free rein you need a lot of engineers and technical consultants to clean things up in the back room.
We have been working for two and half years on Tokyo 2020 for Tokyo Metropolitan Government; we are currently negotiating for a third year. When we started work on Tokyo, we looked at some of the things that they proposed and advised that they weren’t going to work. The stadium was one of those things, and some of the temporary venues they wanted to put on the island out in the bay.
And we have been working for about five years on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. From our side it’s going well; we have been working on technical assurance of the stadiums: sitting client-side and advising the design consultants based on FIFA compliance and other criteria. 
The thing I am a little bit concerned about is that I don’t think they’d gone far enough on planning what they wanted. I think they sold it on the basis of demountable stadiums, so they basically said we are going to build a number of 40,000 seater stadiums and send 20,000 seats off to Africa. It is feasible, but it hasn’t been designed yet. Somebody calculated that you need 178 containers to dispatch the 20,000 seats. Apart from that, everything is deliverable, no doubt about that.

This article is based on a Host City interview with Erik G Andersen, Special Advisor of Arup’s Host Cities Advisory Service. Andersen has worked on 10 Olympic Games over 25 years
 

The value of hosting major sports events has long been debated, not just by city officials but also by the person on the street. Indeed, perceived public benefit is often what makes a bid sink or swim.
What is much less widely discussed and understood is the impact of hosting exhibitions – the trade fairs of the major industries that serve our daily life.
Launched by UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) and IAEE (International Association of Exhibitions and Events) the first ever Global Exhibitions Day was held on 8 June 2016 with the aim of raising awareness about the social and economic benefit of hosting exhibitions.
On this day, it was announced that the global exhibition industry is valued at USD 55 billion. Around 4.4 million companies exhibit each year to more than 260 million visitors per year worldwide, boosting trade and globalisation.
The value to the host city extends beyond direct visitor spend. The crucial benefit is this: at a time of breakneck urbanisation worldwide, hosting exhibitions raises a city’s international status and profile. Exhibitions bring thousands of influential individuals and companies into the city. If used as part of a wider strategy of building a brand identity, staging exhibitions is vital in enabling cities to keep ahead of their competitors. 
Host City 2016, which takes place on 21 and 22 November in Glasgow, is the largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events. One of many exciting topics to be discussed at Host City 2016 is “Business Events and Economic Development”, featuring speakers from the world’s largest exhibitions, the most dynamic cities and more.  
Exhibitions are as valuable to cities as major sports events. At Host City 2016 you will have access to both these markets, as well as cultural and entertainment events – all part of the diverse range of shows through which cities raise their profile on the world stage. I look forward to discussing these opportunities with you there. For more information visit http://www.hostcity.com/events/host-city-2016 

HOST CITY: The IOC must be very pleased with the pool of cities bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games?

Sir Craig Reedie: Yes I think we are. It’s quite interesting that the change in the candidature rules, which came out of the whole reform process called Agenda 2020, seems to have attracted a very considerable field of really good cities. 

We are now waiting for further information from Paris, from Hamburg, from Rome, from Budapest and from a North American city – eventually, Los Angeles.

HOST CITY: It must have been a relief when Los Angeles stepped forward – was that anticipated?

Sir Craig Reedie: Yes, I think the USOC have all but admitted that their process might not have worked in the selection of Boston. But, with Boston’s withdrawal, they were fortunate in many ways that the Los Angeles people were so able to come to the party very quickly and in a relatively tight timeframe, because they had a number of things to agree with Los Angeles city before the necessity of putting in a formal bid on the 15th of September. 

Los Angeles has an Olympic record – if they win they will be like London, hosting the third time. The city has changed dramatically over the last few years and I am sure they will come forward with a very good bid. 

HOST CITY: And the other cities represent a different spread to what we’ve seen in recent bidding procedures. 

Sir Craig Reedie: Yes, it’s an interesting mix. Paris is looking to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Games in Paris and has clear bidding experience. 

Rome hosted outstanding Games in 1960 and there seems to be considerable enthusiasm in Italy and in Rome behind the Rome bid, so they are impressive.

Budapest has come quite late to the party but again a splendid city and Hungary has a terrific Olympic record. 

It’s interesting that when the German Olympic Committee decided to choose Hamburg as opposed to Berlin, who I suppose before that decision would have been seen to be favourite, immediately there was strong support from Berlin for the Hamburg choice. So again there seems to be a great deal of unity there. 

So it’s a really good field. 

HOST CITY: The Olympic bidding process has changed, hasn’t it – after the new invitation phase, we are now straight into the candidature phase.

Sir Craig Reedie: You have to go back a few years to when the system changed from one bidding system into a two phase system – applicant and then candidate. That has now been refined and the big addition has been the invitation phase before a National Olympic Committee decides finally to put a city into the candidature role. 

The closing date was 15 September. So for several months before that, cities that were thinking of bidding for the Games, and the National Olympic Committees, came to meet the relevant people in the Olympic Games department and the candidate cities department of the IOC to sit down and work out exactly how the Games would fit into their city; how it would provide legacy; how it would be sustainable; how it would fit into city plans. And the cities were given a great deal of information from the IOC, as it does have a great deal of information from previous bidding processes. 

That’s a complete change from the previous process, where the IOC had a very detailed list of requirements and cities bid against that list. 

So there is a major change there and I understand that it has been welcomed by the cities, all of whom have been to see the IOC in the invitation phase, and by other cities who went and subsequently decided not to bid but learned a great deal from the exercise and may do so in the future. 

And then we come to the candidature phase, which is divided into three parts.

The first part, which runs until June 2016, is the Vision, Games Concept and Strategy and the candidate city’s “bid book” will be submitted electronically. There will be consultation with the IOC throughout and at the end of that first phase the Executive Board will decide whether the cities will move to the second phase, which runs from June to December 2016 and deals with governments, legal matters and venue funding. 

Again, the presentations will be made through the IOC with a great deal of assistance and the Executive Board will again make a decision on moving people forward to the third phase, which is Games Delivery, Experience and Venue Legacy and runs from December 2016 through to the selection in September 2017. 

So rather than one huge bid book being required at a set date, it’s divided into three sections. There are workshops planned; there are assistances planned to the cities throughout. 

HOST CITY: is there any possibility that any of the cities might not proceed beyond each of these particular stages?

Sir Craig Reedie: The whole point of the exercise with the IOC is to help them to get presentations and plans submitted that actually fit not only what the IOC wants for good Games but also what the cities want themselves. There’s an element of skill and discretion needed in doing that; the IOC have to deal with information from one city on a confidential basis and they have to be fair with all five cities. And if they do that, the system will work. 

It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that a city could come back and say we’re not taking it any further – I think that’s unlikely in the sense that a lot of work will have gone into this, a lot of discussions have gone on through the invitation phase. And since it’s going on through a stage by stage basis I think it’s highly unlikely that people will withdraw. 

The end result of that is that we will have five cities presenting to the Session on the ultimate decision to be taken in Lima in Peru in 2017. 

HOST CITY: Five is a very good number of cities. 

Sir Craig Reedie: It’s a very good number. I have very warm memories of five cities presenting in 2005 in Singapore. 

HOST CITY: And this is all the result of a process of change initiated by IOC President Thomas Bach, which is reflected by the broad theme of the HOST CITY 2015 conference, “Creative Innovation”. Why the need for change in the IOC?

Sir Craig Reedie: I think the principle that Thomas Bach enunciated, to change or change will be forced upon you, is a good one. 

People forget that the previous bidding process was certainly the gold standard in sport the world over. If you find that there is a reluctance to bid – and clearly there was an element of that in the 2022 Winter Games situation – then perhaps you should be prepared to do a little bit of out of the box thinking. 

And the whole Agenda 2020 process started with two long four or five day meetings of the Executive Board which were effectively a think tank. We ranged all over the place and at the end of the day came up with a coordinated and sensible view of how we wanted to run the Games but also to promote the Olympic movement for the future. 

There were some fairly dramatic discussions on the bidding process of the Games. We wanted to make it more inclusive, we wanted to make it more cooperative, we wanted to make it cheaper, we wanted to make it encouraging to more cities to become involved. 

In the process of bidding for sporting events, it’s a competitive field. The Olympic Games are the greatest show on earth; it’s important that they maintain this status. It’s important that the athletes regard them as the greatest show on earth and something they really want to take part in. 

So therefore a process of change is a perfectly reasonable thing to undertake.

HOST CITY: What are your expectations of HOST CITY 2015 in Glasgow?

Sir Craig Reedie: From my point of view of being involved in HOST CITY 2015, I am delighted that the event is coming to Glasgow, because Glasgow has shown that it is a sporting city with the way it has developed its facilities, the way it ran a major multi-sport event, the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and what it’s been doing since then – not least a couple of hugely successful Davis Cup tennis ties. 

So if you look at the excitement that generates locally, and the promotion that it gives the city on a worldwide basis, then I think this indicates that the market out there is a buoyant one.

Cities should be very well prepared to become involved and therefore they should be thinking ahead; they should be innovative – and with a bit of luck they will reap the benefits that Glasgow has.

With Lausanne recently confirmed as the location for the next SportAccord Convention, set to take place 17-22 April 2016, the organisation has now officially opened the application process for future host cities of the Convention in 2017 and 2018.

Held in a different city every year, the annual SportAccord Convention is a unique opportunity for key decision-makers from sport and industry to meet, network, and strategically shape global, regional and national agendas. As the premier event connecting sport and industry, approximately 90% of the participants are high-profile leaders, who seek to further the development of sport in an intimate and exclusive environment. In turn, this garners much attention and places cities firmly in the spotlight.

Speaking about the host city opportunity, Mr. Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord Convention commented:

“The SportAccord Convention is an important event in the sporting calendar for industry, International Sport Federations and organisations worldwide, so the earlier we start the bid process for the involvement of future cities, the better. The Convention provides an ideal platform to get business done - much is achieved in a short space of time - and for many organisations, the same opportunities may not present themselves as easily throughout the year.” Hatt went on to say:

“We are inviting cities to apply to become a host city in 2017 or 2018, and take advantage of the opportunities gained by being involved in this unique event”.

Further information can be found on the website at https://www.sportaccordconvention.com/about/bid-city-information-2017-and-2018.This includes the Bid City Application Information Pack, the Host City Bidding and Selection Process, as well as the Bid City Application Form.

The place Where Sport Meets, the SportAccord Convention is an exclusive 6-day event and attended by 2000 delegates. It is host to annual general meetings, a themed conference including City Forum, LawAccord and MediaAccord, as well as a Plenary Conference. An Exhibition is also held within the Official Programme and is represented by industries, sport organisations, government offices, cities, event services, media, and many more. International Sport Federations also take part in the Sports Demo Zone, and the Convention additionally provides a strong cultural and social programme for all participants.

Cities interested in bidding to host the Convention in 2017 or 2018 should contact Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord Convention, nis.hatt@sportaccordconvention.com to register their interest by Thursday, 28 January 2016.

For media enquiries, please email Jenny Edmondson, Media Relations Officer:

jenny.edmondson@sportaccordconvention.com

SportAccord Convention is pleased to announce Lausanne as Host City for the 2016 Convention. Returning to the Home of International Sport, the Convention will take place from 17-22 April 2016 at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre which offers state-of-the-art congress facilities.

On becoming Host City to the next SportAccord Convention, Mr. Marc Vuilleumier, Lausanne’s Municipal Councillor in charge of Sport commented: “What a wonderful way to close an exceptional year for the City of Lausanne. 2015 marked the IOC’s Centenary in our city, and last July we became the host of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games. The SportAccord Convention will once again witness the entire world of sport gather here, for the first time since we hosted the second Convention in 2004. Lausanne truly is the “Olympic Capital”, today more than ever!”

With close to 50 sports organisations based in Lausanne and the surrounding region of the Canton of Vaud, including many international sport federations, the city is an idyllic location for this premier event. On hearing the news, Thomas Bach, President, International Olympic Committee (IOC) said: “What better place could SportAccord Convention have chosen to hold its annual event than Lausanne, a city which is made for sport. For a century now, Lausanne has been the IOC’s home. More than thirty international sports federations and sports organisations have also found in Lausanne the ideal setting to develop and strengthen the place of sport in society.”

Held in a different city every year, the annual SportAccord Convention is a unique opportunity for key decision-makers from sport and industry to meet, network, and strategically shape global, regional and national agendas. An exclusive 6-day event comprising 2000 delegates, the Convention is host to annual general meetings of governing bodies, and once again, will welcome a delegation from the International Olympic Committee.

Now in its 14th edition, Francesco Ricci Bitti, President, ASOIF and SportAccord Convention remarked: “We are delighted that Lausanne has taken up the baton once more and will be hosting the next SportAccord Convention. As a major event in the international sporting calendar, Lausanne provides a favourable location for sport and business leaders to meet, given its strong commitment to sport and industry. With the warm hospitality shown to visitors and delegates in 2004, we can expect to deliver a Convention that meets the needs of our Stakeholders, Partners and delegates.”

The Convention comprises: a themed conference including City Forum, LawAccord and MediaAccord, as well as a plenary conference; an exhibition represented by industries, sport organisations, government offices, cities, event services, media, and many more; a Sports Demo Zone; as well as a social and cultural programme.

For further information on the benefits of attending the SportAccord Convention, visit: www.sportaccordconvention.com

For media enquiries, please email Jenny Edmondson, Media Relations Officer: Jenny.edmondson@sportaccordconvention.com

Edmonton announced on Monday that it would not proceed with its bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, citing the negative impact of the dramatic fall in oil prices worldwide.

The Commonwealth Games Federation expressed disappointment in the news but is confident that Durban, the only other city bidding for the 2022 Games, can host what would be Africa’s first Commonwealth Games.

Edmonton will instead focus on the 2026 Games.

Alberta’s economy is heavily reliant on oil exports. The fall in oil prices is having a significant economic impact on the province.

Since the Edmonton 2022 bid was launched, Alberta’s fiscal programme has fallen from a CA$500m surplus to a CA$7bn deficit.

“In light of this, we determined that we could not in good conscience put forth our bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games,” said Bid Chairman Reg Milley.

“We strongly believe in the values of the Commonwealth Games and all that they stand for. Which is why this has not been an easy decision for us, as our team has been working tirelessly these last months to put together an extraordinary bid.

“But we believe that at this time it would not be right to move forward with our bid when cuts are being made in our communities to programmes like in education and health.”

Edmonton’s withdrawal has echoes of the 2006 bidding process, which saw sole bidder Melbourne being awarded the Commonwealth Games after Wellington pulled out due to cost concerns.

"We are obviously disappointed to hear Edmonton will not be part of the host city bidding process for the 2022 Commonwealth Games,” said David Grevemberg, chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

“We now look forward enthusiastically to working with the Durban 2022 Bid team and their partners through the evaluation process so, together as a Commonwealth sporting movement, we can realise the ambitions of delivering Africa's first Commonwealth Games.

“I'm confident that there will be a great 2022 Commonwealth Games to follow on from the fantastic experience of Glasgow and the dynamic Games currently shaping up in the Gold Coast for 2018.

“We will continue to engage with CGAs, cities, communities and citizens to ensure the 2022 Commonwealth Games can create a world-class sporting stage for elite athletes of the Commonwealth as well as make a positive and lasting contribution to the legacy ambitions of a proud African Commonwealth city and its people."

Edmonton’s bid was seen as a very strong contender and had the 2022 Games in its sights.

However, it was notable that the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, and not Edmonton, chose to exhibit at HOST CITY Bid to Win in October 2014, which included David Grevemberg as one of its VIP speakers.

“We are of course very saddened by this decision, but we know that this is the right one for the future of our city, province and country,” said bid CEO Simon Farbrother said.

“The Commonwealth Games have strong roots in Canada and we plan to be able to come back for the 2026 Games should the economic status allow. Of course, we are committed to supporting all sport events coming to our wonderful city and especially look forward to welcoming the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer.”

David Grevemberg said “The Edmonton bid team, in collaboration with their partners, has worked hard to lay the foundations of a great bid and we will work closely with them as they focus all efforts on bringing the Commonwealth Games back to Canada - where the Commonwealth Games first began – in 2026.”

Durban has also been linked to a potential bid for the Olympic Games in 2024, along with other South African cities.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee was planning on waiting until the outcome of the Commonwealth Games host city election, on 2 September 2015, before announcing whether it would bid for the 2024 Olympic Games before the IOC’s bid submission deadline of 15 September.

 With Durban the sole bidder, the host city election for the 2022 Games now seems a foregone conclusion.

The Beijing 2022 Bid Committee will do its first official presentation in front of the Olympic family in Bangkok on Friday 7 November.

Building on the legacy of the Beijing 2008 Summer Games, Beijing 2022 aims to deliver an athlete-centred, cost-effective and sustainable Games in order to raise the winter sports culture in China and contribute to the development of the Olympic Movement.

The formal bidding process for the 24th IOC Winter Olympic and Paralympics Games is now well underway with the International Olympic Committee receiving six official applications by its deadline of 14 November 2013.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s recently appointed President Thomas Bach expressed his delight with the applicants. He said “These cities and their supporters clearly understand the benefits that hosting the Games can have and the long lasting legacy that a Games can bring to a region.”

In December 2013, representatives of the six potential host nations attended an orientation seminar at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. The event, held over three days, served to introduce the would-be hosts to what hosting a modern Games would involve. The applicant cities learned the key criteria against which their applicant files will be judged.

The bidding parties are a mix of traditional and developing winter destinations, with four European cities and two in Asia.

Almaty
azakhstan’s biggest city and the host of the 2017 Winter Universiade was one of the first cities to officially put its name forward, back in August 2013. Almaty had previously applied for the Games in 2014 but did not get past the applicant phase; it also expressed interest for 2018 but did not apply.

Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world and it is in a region of the world – Central Asia – that has not yet hosted an Olympic Games. It would also be the first former Soviet state to host an Olympics Games.

Beijing
The host city of the 2008 Summer Olympic and Paralympics will bid to host the indoor events for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympics. The outdoor events would be hosted in the city of Zhangjiakou which is nicknamed “Beijing’s Northern door”; the two cities are 200 kilometres apart.

If successful, this would be the first time China has hosted the Winter Games. The country does have previous experience of bidding for the winter edition, but has not yet got past the application stage. The city of Harbin, which hosted the 2009 Winter Universiade, declared an interest in 2010, 2014 and 2018 but weak infrastructure hampered their progress.

Krakow
The Polish city of Krakow is proposing to bid for the Games jointly with the Slovak ski resort of Jasná.

The Polish Olympic Committee has used experience from Zakapane’s 2006 winter games bid and issues to the alpine events being held in Poland. For this reason the Polish OC will apply together with its Slovak counterpart to deliver the proposed bid with the Alpine events on the Tatra Mountain range.

Every season, Jasná holds FIS (International Ski Federation) alpine events. The 2014 events will take place from the end of February until mid to late March.

Former Winter Snowboarding Olympian Jagna Marczułajtis- Walczak, who is leading the Krakow bid, has asserted that hosting events in neighbouring Slovakia is not in breach of IOC rules.

IOC Rule 35.2 reads that “for the Olympic Winter Games, when for geographical or topographical reasons it is impossible to organise certain events or disciplines of a sport in the country of the host city, the IOC may, on an exceptional basis, authorise the holding of them in a bordering country.”

Lviv
The cultural capital of the Ukraine will also bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The city has experience of mega-events, having hosted high profile group-stage matches involving Germany and Portugal at Euro 2012.

If the bid were to be successful, the alpine events would take place 160 kilometres from Lviv in the Carpathian Mountains.

The Ukrainian Olympic Committee member and pole vaulting legend Sergi Bubka is certain to be a key figure in this bid. He came in fifth place in the race for the IOC presidency.

Oslo
The Norwegian capital is the only applicant city from this list that has a previous Winter Olympic hosting pedigree. In 1952 Oslo hosted the sixth Winter Olympic Games, where 30 countries participated in 22 events.

Norway last held the Winter Olympic and Paralympics in 1994 in Lillehammer. For the 2018 Winter Olympics Games, Oslo expressed an interest to host the games with Lillehammer; however, the bid was not progressed for a number of reasons including public support.

The Oslo bidding committee proposes to utilise Oslo’s current infrastructure and produce a “low-cost and very compact games.”

A referendum saw a slim majority of Oslo’s inhabitants vote in favour of bidding for the 2022 winter Olympic and Paralympics games.

What next?
The next major milestone in the race to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympics is the 14th March 2014. By this date, each of the six applicant cities will hand in their application files to the International Olympic Committee. In July 2014, the successful applicants will then be named as official candidate cities for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympics. The winning bid will be announced in Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur convention centre at the 127th IOC session on the 31st July 2015. But winning isn’t everything. As Bach said: “While recent Games have left an array of sporting, social, economic and other legacies for the local population, many cities that did not go on to win the right to host the Games have also noted benefits as a result of their bids.”