Beijing have won the honour to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games after narrowly beating Almaty of Kazakhstan in the an International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote.
The Chinese capital beat the former Kazakh capital by 44 votes to 40 with, one abstention, to become the first city to be awarded the summer and winter Games.
Having already been selected to host the Summer Games in 2008, the Chinese city put forward a powerful proposal and delegates handed the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic events to Beijing on Friday afternoon following a secret ballot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Beijing celebrates the result. Image Credit: Mark Schiefelbein / AP/Press Association Images
Chinese president president Xi Jinping said that a Beijing Winter Olympics would “boost exchanges and mutual understanding between the Chinese and other civilisations of the world".
"The Chinese people are looking forward to this opportunity. Let me assure you that if you choose Beijing the Chinese people will present to the world a fantastic, extraordinary and excellent Olympic Winter Games in Beijing,” he added.
The Games will be held in March 2022 during the Lunar New Year.
There were originally six contenders to host the Games, but Oslo, Krakow, Stockholm and Lviv in Ukraine withdrew for political and financial reasons.
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