Beijing wins 2022 Winter Olympic bid

Beijing has become the first city to host both Summer and Winter Olympic Games after beating Kazakhstan's Almaty to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Following a closed-door vote by International Olympic Committee (IOC) members, President Thomas Bach announced that Beijing is the winner of 2022 Winter Olympics during the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur on Friday afternoon.

With a fully-prepared final presentation by an all-star team, Beijing has successfully convinced the committee members that the 2008 Olympics host city is a more favored candidate for the Winter Games. The high-powered delegation assured IOC members that Beijing was the safe choice because it had already proved it could stage the Games and said it would take winter sports into the backyard of the world's most populated country.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a letter of appreciation to President Thomas Bach on Friday evening, expressing thanks to IOC for its trust and support in selecting Beijing together with Zhangjiakou as the host of the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

President Xi said, "To present a fantastic, extraordinary and excellent Winter Olympics is the aspiration of over 1.3 billion Chinese people. We will fulfill all our commitments and witness, together with the people of all other countries and the IOC, the advent of a new phase in the development of the Olympic winter sports and in the spread of the Olympic spirit."

Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, attended a celebration in the Olympic Park in Beijing on Friday evening.

Liu spoke highly of the success of the bid, and expressed thanks to all the people involved.

Liu said, "The 1.3 billion Chinese people embrace Olympic Movement again. This not only helps develop the winter sports in China, but also strengthen the friendship and mutual understanding between the Chinese people and the people from other countries and regions."

The British Olympic Association (BOA) congratulated Beijing on winning the bid and believed the Chinese capital will host a "great" Winter Olympics.

The capital promises a sustainable and prudent Olympics by taking full advantages of existing venues. And it will take a series of measures to tackle air pollution for a successful 2022 Games.