China's bronze medalists Chen Degua, Han Tianyu, Shi Jingnan and Wu Dajing during the victory ceremony for the men's 5,000-meter relay short track speed skating at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. (Photo : Reuters)
The Evaluation Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has started its five-day inspection tour of proposed sites as part of Beijing’s proposal for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
The Chinasportsbeat.com reported that the IOC Evaluation team will be making rounds of areas in and around Beijing, including Yanqing District in the northwest part of the city.
The IOC team is also scheduled to travel to Zhangjiakou in Hebei for another evaluation.
According to the report, the commission is tasked with evaluating the site and proposed venues for the games as well as providing detailed information about the proposal.
The evaluation committee is also expected to ask the organizers of the Beijing Games about the air quality in the capital, the report added.
Wang Hui, a member of Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, said that they are aware of the issue and they are doing something about it.
"The measures we are adopting are very strict. We've allocated 760 billion yuan to fight air pollution. But we're not doing it solely for the Winter Olympics. We're also putting the plans in place to allow everyone living in the city to breathe the good air they have been longing for," Wang was quoted as saying.
Beijing's bid to host the Winter Olympics has drawn the support of people, including Yang Yang, an Olympic champion speed skater, who said that hosting the Winter Games will be advantageous to China in terms of promoting winter sports.
The report said that the IOC team is scheduled to submit a report after the evaluation, which will become the basis on who will host the Winter Games.
The report of the team will be kept confidential until the IOC gives its formal feedback to the candidate cities in June.
The city of Almaty in Kazakhstan is competing with Beijing for the Winter Games bid.
