EXPLAINER: So why is Beijing holding another Olympics?
BEIJING (AP) — Nobody views Beijing as a winter sports capital. So why is the sprawling city — famed internationally for roast duck, maze-like "hutong" courtyard neighborhoods and its battle with air pollution — holding the Winter Olympics? These Games come just 13 1/2 years after the extravagant 2008 Summer Games.
And why are the Winter Olympics based in such an urban landscape?
There's a simple answer. Potential hosts in Europe — as many as six including favorites like Norway and Sweden — dropped out of the bidding in the wake of the doping-scandal-ridden 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The $51 billion price tag for Sochi also frightened future bidders.
When the IOC voted in 2015 on a host for 2022, the only remaining candidates were Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan. The IOC narrowly picked Beijing in a 44-40 vote.
WHY ARE THE WINTER OLYMPICS A DIFFICULT SELL?
It comes down to money. Smaller countries in Europe won't foot the bill, and taxpayers also have a say in many Western democracies.
St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany — two areas with potentially strong bids for 2022 — were rejected by the public in voter referendums. The German rejection was a stinging blow to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, who is from Germany.
It’s also notable that the IOC headquarters are in Switzerland.
Krakow, Poland, and Lviv, Ukraine, also withdrew bids. But the ones that hurt were Oslo, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden, which pulled out because of costs or politics. In Norway, a lawmaker was angered during the bid process by reported demands from the IOC to include a cocktail reception with the King of Norway as part of Games protocol.
Bach acknowledged in a 2014 interview that the Winter Olympics were a tough sell.
“The number of candidates for...
