ATLANTA — The Winter Olympic Games are now underway in an area that is not exactly known for its winter weather.
Competitors in events like downhill skiing will glide over snow that is mostly man made. It prompts the question — Why Beijing?
The first Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France, an area that gets an average of six feet of snow each year. Compare that to Beijing, an area of China that gets an average of six days of snow each winter, even in the mountainous areas near Beijing that will host alpine skiing.
“I suppose snow is not the most important thing in choosing the Winter Games, but it feels important to me,” said Dave Lunt of Southern Utah University, an expert in Olympic history.
The International Olympic Committee didn’t have a lot of choice when it came to choosing the sight of the 2022 games. The final vote came down to Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan. Several cities withdrew their bids, mainly due to the cost of running the winter games.
"The International Olympic Committee is trying to decide where to put games and one of the first is you have to have a willing population or willing government," said Lunt.
The use of artificial snow is becoming more common at the Winter Games. It’s been used to varying degrees since the 1980 games. Sochi, Russia, hosted the games in 2014 even though that area rarely sees snow.
“I guess the technology is good enough that artificial snow is possible,” said Lunt. "They have to manipulate the snow anyway to get the conditions they want.”
Georgia State’s Timothy Kellison was part of a study that looked at the use of artificial snow and its impact on the environment.
“I think when people watch this on TV, unless the broadcasters are really drawing their attention to it, it’s going to look the same to you and me,” said Kellison. “But the experience that the athletes are having behind the scenes and on the slopes is going to be a little different.”
Beijing hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 2008. Some of the facilities used then will be transformed for use during the winter games. Lunt said that’s one reason the IOC was drawn to Beijing.
“One thing the IOC is looking for, at least maybe that's just how it has to be, is cities that have done it before,” said Lunt. “They have experience or maybe there's the infrastructure in place.”
Environmentalists are concerned about the amount of water that will be required to create enough artificial snow for the games. Estimates put the amount at 49 million gallons.