Bids for the 2022 Winter Olympics advancing nations can successfully host the winter games". He called to the OCI core values saying that letting Almaty host the Games was "a golden opportunity to showcase the real long-term power of Olympic legacy for a region that has never hosted the Games". In the final voting Almaty lost to Beijing by only 4 votes. On 5 November 2013, the Chinese Olympic Committee announced that it would submit a bid for Beijing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Beijing (where the indoor ice sports and the ceremonies would take place), was the host city of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Almaty bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics was the only contender to have never hosted the Olympics before. Almaty previously hosted the 2017 Winter Universiade. On 29 November 2011, Almaty was chosen to host the 2017 Winter Universiade. The city also co-hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games with Astana, the capital since 1997. It can be seen as preparation for hosting the Winter Olympic Games in the future. Kazakhstan had been considering a bid for these games since 2011. On 17 August 2013, Almaty, the former capital city and still the largest city and financial centre of the country, confirmed their bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic