Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics, after beating Almaty, the financial capital of Kazakhstan, at the International Olympic Committee vote in Kuala Lumpur.
It means the Chinese capital will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter games, but will attract severe criticism, both over human rights issues, and the fact that its mountains are more than 150 miles away, and the competitions will be held almost entirely on artificial snow.
The indoor elements of the games, such as ice skating and ice hockey, will use much of the city’s 2008 infrastructure, including the famous Water Cube for curling, and famous Bird’s Nest stadium taking the bizarre honour of hosting two Olympic opening ceremonies, one summer, one winter.