IOC Steps Up Scrutiny of 2022 Olympic Bids

(ATR) The strengths and weaknesses of Almaty and Beijing’s bids will be laid bare in a change to the format for the candidate cities briefing for IOC members in Lausanne next month.

For the first time in an Olympic bid race, the 2022 Evaluation Commission led by Russian Alexander Zhukov will address the IOC members gathered at the Olympic Museum on June 9. He will also speak to the presidents and secretary generals of the winter international federations and respond to their questions.

The format overhaul follows approval of an Agenda 2020 recommendation, which calls for the evaluation commission "to present a more explicit risk and opportunity assessment with a strong focus on sustainability and legacy."

For the candidate city briefing – the first opportunity for the bids to present to the entire IOC membership ahead of the host city vote – the IOC committed to include "an in-camera discussion between the IOC members and the IOC Evaluation Commission."

Despite Agenda 2020’s push for greater IOC transparency, the candidate city briefing will be closed to the media, as in previous years.

The day begins with Almaty and Beijing bid teams giving detailed presentations about their 2022 concepts to IOC members.

The Kazakh bid is first up with a presentation and Q&A scheduled from 9-10:30am. Beijing 2022’s pitch to IOC members will follow soon after.

Following lunch, the meeting involving the 2022 Evaluation Commission, winter IFs and IOC members is scheduled to last two hours.

Both 2022 bids will stage press conferences in the afternoon.

On the morning of June 10, each city will have a separate room in the Lausanne Palace Hotel to woo visiting IOC members. Display models and bid videos are planned by both bids, while their leaders and technical officials will be made available to answer questions. The rooms will then be open to the media from2 p.m.

Almaty and Beijing bids are currently busy preparing their presentations and displays for the IOC membership. The briefing has been a game-changer for previous Olympic bids, notably Rio 2016.

The two-day session for IOC members follows hot on the heels of an IOC Executive Board meeting on June 7-8.

Among top items on the agenda are the implementation of Agenda 2020 reforms. Updates from the organizers of upcoming Olympics in Rio, PyeongChang and Tokyo are also planned, as well as a presentation on the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympics.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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