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Kazakh 2022 Olympic bid not unrealistic

Kazakhstan Materials 18 February 2011 12:56 (UTC +04:00)

Kazakhstan celebrated the closure on February 6 of their successful hosting of the 7th Asian Winter Games. But even before the lights were turned off in the venues for that event, Kazakhstan had already kicked off a campaign to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Though such a notion may not have been realistic in the past, Kazakhstan now has a feasible chance at claiming the 2022 games, CentralASIA Newswire reported.

On January 31, Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced in the Kazakh capital Astana that the government of Kazakhstan had submitted Astana to be considered as a host city for the 2022 Games.

"It is my pleasure to say that, after discussions with the Kazakhstan government, they have expressed a strong wish to be a contender for the 2022 Olympic Games here in this beautiful city," the New Europe news agency reported Rogge as saying when he attended an Asian Olympic Council meeting in Astana.

The wealthiest nation in Central Asia has never before been taken seriously as a potential Olympic host. In the past when Kazakh officials expressed ambitions to undertake such a role, they have been widely met with polite skepticism.

But that is no longer the case. Competition to host the 2022 Games will predictably be intense, but the Kazakhs have a surprising amount going for them.

Most significant is the success of their segment of the Asian Winter Games that just concluded. It was the first time Kazakhstan had ever hosted any portion of any international sports festival of comparable size. The International Olympic Committee would be unlikely to choose nations that lacked such experience.

Though it is difficult to gauge the importance of what didn't happen at the games, a major blunder during Kazakhstan's hosting of the event would certainly have hurt its changes at hosting the Olympics.

It took Germany more than 30 years to shake off the disastrous reputation for poor security it suffered in 1972 when Palestinian terrorists were able to kidnap 11 Israeli athletes. Mexico has never recovered as an international sporting host from the shooting of hundreds of democracy demonstrators during the 1968 Olympics. And most recently, India was gravely embarrassed last year by its failure to prepare proper accommodations and infrastructure to host the Commonwealth Games. Reports of the fiasco seriously damaged India's international standing.

There were fears that Kazakhstan would suffer a similar humiliation in failing to prepare its sporting facilities and accommodations for the Asian Games. But in the end, the operation ran smoothly, giving the Kazakhs a jump-start on their Olympics bid campaign.

Also going for them is the current fashion among major international sporting bodies to host major international competitions in countries and regions that have not held them before.

FIFA, the ruling world soccer international body, has awarded the 2014 World Cup to Brazil, the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. These will be the first occasions that the tournaments have been held in South America, the Middle East, a Muslim nation or in Russia or a post-communist nation.

No Olympic Games have ever been held in a Central Asian nation. Nor have they been held in a Muslim nation.

And Kazakhstan this year is going to chair the Organization of the Islamic Conference -- the 57-nation organized voice of the Muslim world. That will give it a tremendous voice in lobbying for Muslim inclusion.

Kazakhstan's strong economic position in the midst of uncertain global economic times also bodes well for its bid. With global oil prices now at $90 plus per barrel and likely to increase, the IOC knows it will not have to worry about Kazakhstan's financial ability to build the necessary Olympic infrastructure.

It also won't hurt Kazakhstan's bid that Kazakh athletes did so well at the Asian Games. Kazakhstan won 32 gold medals, 21 silver medals and 17 bronze medals, beating out Japan and South Korea. The IOC likes host countries that have strong sporting traditions.

The Kazakh bid, however, will also face obstacles. Among them will be its relatively close proximity to Afghanistan, as well as its proximity to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Both of those Central Asian nations are extremely unstable. Security may, therefore, be an issue.

Kazakhstan also faces stiff competition from a slew of dedicated and qualified candidates from around the world.

News analysis by Martin Sieff

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