IOC Confirms Six Bids for 2022 Winter Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed six bids for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games twice as many as the previous Winter Olympics.

Six cities have bid this time, all meeting the application deadline of midnight on 14 November. Listed in alphabetical order, the cities are: Almaty (Kazakhstan), Beijing (China), Krakow (Poland), Lviv (Ukraine), Oslo (Norway), and Stockholm (Sweden).

Only three cities bid for the 2018 winter Games, which were awarded to Pyeongchang. Russia’s Sochi will stage the 2014 edition in February.

“I am delighted that six cities are bidding to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games,” said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach. “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. Indeed, 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.”

The six Applicant Cities will be invited to attend a seminar in Lausanne from 4 to 6 December 2013 and to participate in an Observer Programme tailored to their needs during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.    

National Olympic Committees had until midnight on 14 November 2013 to submit an application to the IOC. Having fulfilled these requirements, the six Applicant Cities now enter Phase 1 of a two-step technical analysis that culminates in the election of the 2022 host city by the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur on 31 July 2015.

A summary of the key 2022 timelines:

Phase 1:

• -Deadline for NOCs to submit an Applicant City – 14 November 2013
• -Applicant City Seminar – Lausanne – 4-6 December 2013
• -Sochi Olympic Winter Games Observer Programme – 7-23 February 2014
• -Submission of the Application File – 14 March 2014
• -Selection of Candidate Cities by the IOC – Executive Board – 8-9 July 2014 

Phase 2:

• -Submission of the Candidature File & Guarantees – January 2015
• -IOC Evaluation Commission visits – February – March 2015
• -Evaluation Commission report / Candidate City Briefing for IOC Members – May – June 2015
• -Election of the 2022 Host City by the IOC Session – Kuala Lumpur – 31 July 2015
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