Beijing vs Almaty: Kazakhs impress IOC with 'Keeping it Real' campaign for Winter Olympics

Seeking to cut into Beijing's status as favourite, leaders of the Kazakh bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics told the IOC on Tuesday that Almaty presents the ideal choice that offers a "real" winter setting with natural snow.

With the vote less than two months away, Almaty leaders also portrayed their bid as being perfectly in tune with the IOC's "Olympic Agenda 2020" reform programme that calls for affordable games and maximum use of existing venues.

"They certainly nailed the bit about snow," IOC vice president Craig Reedie said. "They had pictures of people climbing through three feet of snow."

Almaty and Beijing made presentations at a "technical briefing" at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne attended by 85 of the International Olympic Committee's 101 members.

The closed-door presentations could be vital in swaying opinion ahead of the secret IOC ballot in Kuala Lumpur on July 31.

Each city was given 45 minutes to explain their bid plans, with another 45 minutes allotted for questions and answers. Almaty went first, followed by Beijing.

The Almaty presentation seemed to hit the right notes with IOC members, suggesting the race could become much tighter than many expected.