OLYMPICS-2022/BEIJING-REACTIONS Beijing celebrates winning bid for Winter Olympics 2022

Record ID: 145596

  • Title: OLYMPICS-2022/BEIJING-REACTIONS Beijing celebrates winning bid for Winter Olympics 2022
  • Date: 31st July 2015
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (JULY 31, 2015) (REUTERS) SCREEN SHOWING IOC PRESIDENT THOMAS BACH OPENING ENVELOPE AND ANNOUNCING BEIJING AS WINNER OF RIGHT TO HOST 2022 WINTER OLYMPICS / CROWDS CHEERING WOMEN WAVING FLAGS IN FRONT OF BEIJING'S BIRD'S NEST OLYMPIC STADIUM / CROWDS CHEERING PEOPLE WAVING FLAGS AND THROWING CONFETTI IN CELEBRATION VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAVING FLAGS AND CHEERING
  • Embargoed: 15th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4XBPXA482M0OHP6KDVC1MHXLA
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Crowds in Beijing wildly celebrated being awarded the 2022 Winter Olympic games on Friday (July 31) evening.
    Thousands gathered in Beijing's Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium to watch the announcement that was made at 6 PM local time (1000 GMT) .
    The announcement was greeted by cheering, enthusiastic flag-waving from the crowd, mostly composed of Beijing residents.
    "I feel especially happy to come here and be part of such a celebration, and I'm very happy! I'm so happy that Beijing has become the host of the Winter Olympics! Go Beijing!!!" said Chen Wanyi, a university student in Beijing.
    Beijing resident Huo Ge, who says some of his family come from Zhangjiakou, the city where many of the events will be taking place, said he was extremely proud.
    "I'm definitely happy, because half of me is from Beijing, and half of me is from Zhangjiakou. I'm extremely proud that the Winter Olympics in my (both) of my hometowns," said Huo.
    The two mountain venues, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou of nearby Hebei province, are 60 and 140 kilometres away, and can only be reached by an as-yet unbuilt high-speed train.
    Another challenge facing Beijing, is that the mountains don't usually get enough natural snow for alpine events, forcing organisers to cover the slopes with tonnes of man-made flakes.
    Gao Ming, a 70 year-old retiree from northeast Heilongjiang province, said that he wasn't sure why a possible "snowier" northern city wasn't picked as a possible venue rather than Beijing, but had confidence that the event would be a success.
    "I'm not clear about that (why a more northern Chinese city, with more likelihood of snow, wasn't chosen). China - definitely; my country has this strength. You are worried that it won't snow, but then it will snow. It definitely has this strength," he said whilst standing outside the Bird's Nest stadium.
    Wang Xiaobing, a professor at the China Academy of Science, believed that the Winter Olympics could bring possible improvements to Beijing's environment and reduce pollution, much like the Summer Olympics of 2008 and APEC summit of 2014 did.
    "Personally speaking, I don't really have that deep of an understanding of the government's budget policies," said Wang. "But, especially since Beijing won the bid for the Summer Olympics, the surroundings and the environment has improved a lot, like with APEC Blue. I believe the government has the strength to adjust the infrastructure to lower pollution. I think it will make big improvements."
    Almaty, by comparison, is a winter wonderland. Nestled in Central Asia, the financial capital of Kazakhstan is surrounded by 4,000 metre mountains in the Tien Shan ranges.
    The IOC has for years been criticised by human rights groups, most notably after awarding the Summer Games to Beijing in 2008 and the Winter Games to Russia's Sochi in 2014, but has since added anti-discrimination clauses to the host city contract.
    Beijing has a proven record of success, having hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008. Beijing now becomes the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
    The bidding committee plans to use many of the buildings that hosted events in 2008 for the indoor ice events in 2022, but the outdoor events present more problems.
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