Almaty, Oslo Express Confidence After 2022 Bid Pitches

(ATR) Almaty and Oslo bid leaders say a video conference session with IOC officials provided some invaluable lessons in their quests to land the 2022 Games.

All five cities vying for the 2022 Olympics – Beijing, Krakow, and Lviv are the others – gave 15-minute presentations to an IOC working group on Thursday. It was followed by a 30-minute Q&A session during which IOC officials queried some of the technical aspects of the bids.

Oslo 2022 CEO Eli Grimsby tells Around the Rings she is "very satisfied" with the bid’s presentation to the IOC. "I think we did use the time well and answer all the questions and I think they were satisfied with the answers we gave," she said.

Days after the minority coalition partner in the Norwegian government, the Progress Party, decided against backing Oslo’s 2022 campaign, bid leaders chose to mention the vote in their pitch to the IOC panel.

Grimsby declined to comment when asked if the IOC expressed concerns about the lack of full government support or on the low poor public support for the bid.

Almaty was the only bid to put out a press release after the video conference.

Deputy mayor of Almaty Zauresh Amanzholova hailed the event as another milestone on Almaty’s Olympic journey.

"It was an exciting experience and showed on the one side the complexity of hosting the Olympic Winter Games but also the chances to change a city to the better," she said.

"The city of Almaty is fully backing this bid because to host the Games here in the center of Eurasia, in a city where winter sport is part of our life, would be an essential part of our long-term city development."

Kazakhstan NOC secretary general Timur Dossymbetov, described the video conference as "constructive and fruitful."

"We understood that it is a long and challenging process, but we learn every day. I have been to six Summer and seven Winter Games as NOC representative of Kazakhstan," he said.

"Being involved in this bid from the very first day, my respect for former Olympic host cities has grown and my understanding of the challenges they face has as well. But we are working hard to fulfill the demands of the IOC."

Ilsiyar Kanagatov, vice chair of Kazakhstan’s agency of physical culture and sport, said the country’s Olympic ambitions were part of the nation’s aspirations to become a hub for sports in central Asia. The nation has proved its credentials to deliver multisports events through its staging of the 2011 Asian Winter Games and preparations for the 2017 Winter Universiade.

"By gathering more and more experience, we hope the Olympic Movement will give us the chance to present Almaty 2022 to their membership in 2015 in Kuala Lumpur," he said.

On Thursday, Almaty 2022 signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Almaty, the country’s national Olympic and Paralympic committees, all the national winter sports federations, and agency of physical culture and sport.

Dossymbetov said the multi-party agreement was "the backbone of Almaty’s bid to host the Olympics."

"It shows that the whole country is united behind the bid. We have support not just from all levels of government, but also the sports family is unanimously backing Almaty 2022."

He said positive signals were coming from the commercial community for supporting the bid and becoming investment partners if Almaty was awarded the Games in 2015.

"Almaty 2022 is a national priority here in Kazakhstan, and the full nation is one team. But this is just another step on a long journey ahead with a lot of hard work which will be done with a lot of passion," he said.

Written by Mark Bisson

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