Beijing has won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The Chinese capital won the vote on Friday 31 July after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials voted it ahead of Almaty of Khazakstan after Munich, Olso and Stockholm dropped out of the race.

Their bid narrowly beat Almaty by 44 votes to 40 in the secret ballot in Kuala Lumpur.

The city will become the first in history to host both a summer and winter games, following the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Beijing was considered a strong favourite to win the vote despite the lack of natural snow in the region but will rely on man-made snow to accommodate the Games.

Almaty targeted Beijing's unnatural conditions as part of their campaign which was led by the slogan, "Keeping it real."

But its 2008 success and the greater commercial opportunities proved to be a far more tempting option for the IOC, in addition to their pledge to control toxic air pollution.

Beijing itself will stage the competition's ice events while the city of Zhangjiakou, located 118 miles north west of the capital with host snow events.

The vote in Kuala Lumpur was initially delayed after the electronic voting system failed due to a technical glitch. A paper ballot was instead used to determine a winner.