Stockholm and Beijing among six bidders to host 2022 winter Olympics

Almaty, Krakow, Lviv and Oslo are the others hoping to stage the games

(Getty Images)

Six cities are to bid to host the 2022 winter Olympics, the IOC has confirmed.

The cities are: Almaty (Kazakhstan), Beijing (China), Krakow (Poland), Lviv (Ukraine), Oslo (Norway), and Stockholm (Sweden).

That is twice as many as bid to host the 2018 winter Games and IOC president Thomas Bach said he was delighted with the interest.

Bach said: "These cities and their supporters clearly understand the benefits that hosting the Games can have and the long-lasting legacy that a Games can bring to a region.

"Indeed, while recent Games have left an array of sporting, social, economic and other legacies for the local population, many cities that did not go on to win the right to host the Games have also noted benefits as a result of their bids."

The final vote will take place at the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur on 31 July 2015.

PA