Almaty Winter Olympics bid based on strong economy
Almaty is capable of meeting all the International Olympic Committee's requirements of accommodation, budget and human rights if it were to win the right to stage the 2022 Winter Olympics, said vice-chairman of the city's bid committee on Tuesday (9 June).
The Kazakhstan city is up against Beijing and both cities made their presentations to the IOC behind closed doors on Tuesday morning.
Later Andrey Kryukov, vice-chairman of the Alamty bid committee told a news conference: "We have guaranteed what needs to be guaranteed, what we should provide to the IOC. We have guaranteed, and we have signed it -- there are joint guarantee by the government and city administration and Olympic committee -- we guarantee all necessary accommodations for the Olympic Games: 24,000 rooms is guaranteed, plus another 18,000 will be provided for visitors."
He said the cost of staging the games was only a fraction of the country's gross domestic product, adding: "Our economy is stable and strong."
The IOC said last year it would include human rights clauses in new contracts to be signed by future Olympic host cities, strengthening its anti-discrimination policy.
Kazakhstan has been heavily criticised by Human Rights Watch, whose world report in 2014 said torture remained common in places of detention and the IOC has for years been criticised by rights groups, especially after awarding the Olympic Games to Beijing in 2008 and Sochi in 2014.
Kryukov told the media: "We respect the Olympic Charter. The articles about the Human Rights issue is included to the Host City Contract. Any host city which will sign the contract will sign under this. About specific measures, we are a new country, we have worked very hard to be better, day by day."
Activists have already expressed concern about the possibility Beijing will win the bid, with Tibetan groups saying China's rights record disqualifies it. The IOC will pick the winning city in July.
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