London, July 31 : Beijing edged past Kazakhstan to win the battle to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics on Friday after a secret ballot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Chinese capital will become the first city to host both summer and winter Games after it hosted the 2008 Olympics.
Beijing defeated the bid of Kazakhstan’s Almaty by 44 votes to 40 after numerous European cities dropped out of the bidding process due to political or financial reasons, the BBC reported.
Beijing also won the bid amidst growing concerns relating to a lack of natural snow in the mountains and protests from human rights groups.
The Winter Games will be split between the capital and the city of Zhangjiakou, which will hosts the snow events. (ANI)