Bid committee shrugs off IOC's concerns over snow

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics bid committee has shrugged off concerns by the International Olympic Committee over insufficient snowfall and potential ecological damage in the proposed skiing venue areas.

The apparent lack of abundant snowfall in Beijing and the surrounding areas, which was highlighted in the IOC evaluation report published on Monday, would not affect snow events in the proposed mountain areas should the capital win the bid, Beijing committee officials said on Tuesday.

"Local weather conditions in the mountain regions in Yanqing (northwest Beijing) and Chongli (Zhangjiakou, Hebei province) suggest that abundant snowfall could be expected to cover the venue areas," said Zhao Yinggang, vice-secretary general of the Beijing2022 bid committee, at a media briefing on Tuesday. "This would provide enough snow for skiing despite the fact that it doesn't snow much in Beijing and its outlying urban areas," Zhao said.