2022 Winter Olympic Bids Ready to Go Global

(ATR) Almaty and Beijing will ratchet up their 2022 Olympic campaigns starting on Nov. 1 when the international promotional phase opens.

Of the two cities, Beijing sets out on the journey to Kuala Lumpur next year with the most organized PR set-up. The host city vote takes place at the IOC Session on July 31. Around the Rings has so far found it hard to obtain information about Almaty’s bid activities.

Neither bid city can call on the support of Olympic PR experts or communication strategists, who have given the 2022 race a wide berth due to uncertainties around Olympic Agenda 2020 changes.

At next week’s Smart Cities and Sport Summit in Lausanne, Beijing is represented by two officials from the city’s Olympic City Development Association. No delegates from Kazakhstan are registered for the conference.

Both bids are busy preparing for presentations at the ANOC General Assembly in Bangkok on Nov. 7. It’s the first opportunity for Almaty and Beijing to make an impact on the global stage about their Winter Olympic visions.

A spokeswoman for Beijing 2022 tells ATR that the bid will hold a press briefing on Nov. 4 about its concept and plans for the ANOC presentation.Wang Anshun, mayor of Beijing, will introduce the bidding concept. A Q&A with the bid leadership will follow.

On Nov. 7, each bid will be allowed 15 minutes to present to ANOC delegates drawn from the world’s 204 national Olympic committees. NOCs will then have the opportunity to put their questions in a Q&A.

They will be keen to impress IOC president Thomas Bach, who is among the 900+ delegates expected to attend the two-day assembly.

The bids’ presence at upcoming meetings of the continental associations for NOCs will also raise their international profiles.

After Bangkok, they will present their 2022 bid concepts at the European Olympic Committees general assembly in Baku on Nov. 21. Other international opportunities follow before the IOC evaluation commission visits in the spring.

As with previous bidding campaigns, Almaty and Beijing are expected to roll out various elements of their bid books in the months leading up to the July IOC vote.

But the lack of communications specialists developing compelling narratives for the bids means Almaty and Beijing will have to work hard to generate their own positive PR messages over the next nine months.

Also on the horizon is the IOC’s Jan. 7 deadline for final bid dossiers. Government guarantees are also due in January.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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