Bids for the 2014 Winter Olympics a remarkable similarity. There were two rounds of voting at the session that decided which city would host the games. In the first round, Pyeongchang received 36 votes while Sochi received 34 votes. Salzburg was eliminated carrying only 25 votes. In the second round of voting Pyeongchang garnered 47 votes but Sochi carried most of the votes originally cast for Salzburg and garnered 51 votes, winning the bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Bids for the 2014 Winter Olympics Seven applicant cities presented bids to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics (formally known as "XXII Olympic Winter Games" and
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