2022 Winter Olympics: Beijing’s Reliance On Artificial Snow Makes Hosts China A ‘Bad Choice’ For Games?

The 2022 Winter Olympics has been awarded to China. The mainland will be the first to host both the Summer and the Winter Olympics after winning the bid for the Summer Olympics in 2008. China won the privilege after edging out Almaty, Kazhakstan 44-40 in a vote by the Olympic Committee members. Analysts say that Winter Games is no longer appealing to potential host nations.

While China is strong in using its political muscle, it is also undergoing an economic downturn. And organizers say using the infrastructure from the Summer Games in 2008 will cut costs by 2.5 billion pounds. The Bird's Nest Stadium is likely to be used for the opening and closing ceremonies, while the water cube would be used for curling.

The unyielding problem, however, is that China has little or no snow to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. It's reliance on manmade fake snow will be its weakness, according to experts.

"The Zhangjiakou and Yanqing Zones have minimal annual snowfall and for the Games would rely completely on artificial snow,' the IOC said in a Daily Mail report. 'There would be no opportunity to haul snow from higher elevations for contingency maintenance to the racecourses so a contingency plan would rely on stockpiled man-made snow.'

The IOC added, 'Due to the lack of natural snow the 'look' of the venue may not be aesthetically pleasing either side of the ski run.'

The announcement of the 2022 Winter Olympics on video: "Beijing Is Elected To Host The 2022 Winter Olympics"

Beijing was offered the bid over Almaty, the Kazakh Central Asian location because of its experience conducting the Summer Games seven years ago and this will be the third Olympics to take place in the region - Pyongyang, South Korea will host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Tokyo, Japan will host the 2020 Olympics. The last Winter Games were held in  Sochi, a Black Sea resort favored by Russian leaders dating back to Stalin, The Guardian reported.