Remarkable day for Beijing and the Olympic movement: Mayor

Wang Anshun, Beijing mayor and president of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bid, answers questions during a press conference after Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games bid presentation at the 128th International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 31, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

KUALA LUMPUR - Wang Anshun, Mayor of Beijing promised to deliver a successful Winter Olympic Games after Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the 128th IOC session here on Friday.

"In the seven years to come, we will be strictly in compliance with IOC rules, in particular following the guidance of the Olympic Agenda 2020 to prepare for an athlete's centered, sustainable and economical Games in 2022," said Wang.

"Today is a remarkable day for Beijing and the Olympic movement. A day will go down in history as Beijing and Zhangjiakou were awarded the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games," added Wang.

Beijing became the first ever city to host both summer and winter Olympic Games in Olympic history.

"In this moment, we are overwhelmed by the enjoyment. People around China are overjoyed. I would like to give my thanks to IOC members for their trust and support to Beijing," said Wang.

Wang stressed Beijing's friendship with Almaty, saying: "I would like to take this opportunity to pay our respect to our good friend, a partner and a neighbor, Almaty. Almaty's passionate commitment to the Olympic movement is admirable."

As an ambassador of Beijing 2022, Yao Ming also gave his thanks to Almaty.

"Only with a strong competitor, you can create an excellent match. I should thank Almaty. It is their excellent performance that force us to show the best of ourselves," said Yao, the former NBA star.

"I think the best way of celebrating this victory is thinking about nothing but just relax," added Yao.

A highlight of Beijing' s presentation was that Yao featured in a video playing ice hockey with young kids and also appeared on stage.

"Our presentation was really excellent today. I think, it's better than any of our rehearsals," Yao told reporters after the presentation.

Beijing won 44 nods against Almaty's 40 in the IOC voting with one abstention, becoming the first ever city to host both summer and winter Olympics.