Lausanne, Nov 15 (IANS): The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Friday announced that six cites - Almaty, Beijing, Krakow, Lviv (Ukraine), Oslo and Stockholm have bid for the 2022 Winter Games.

“I am delighted that six cities are bidding to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.

“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. 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 host city will be elected in July 2015.

As part of the assistance the IOC offers bid cities, the six cities will be invited to attend a seminar in Lausanne from Dec 4 to 6 and to participate in an Observer Programme tailored to their needs during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

National Olympic Committees had until midnight of Nov 14 to submit bid to the IOC that complied with the criteria (declarations concerning the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Court of Arbitration for Sport) established by the IOC Executive Board in 2010.

Having fulfilled these requirements, the selected cities now enter Phase 1 of a two-step technical analysis that culminates in the election of the host city by the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur July 31, 2015.

At the end of Phase 1, the IOC Executive Board will select the cities that will move forward to Phase 2 of the process as candidate cities.

Following the submission of their candidature- an in-depth blueprint of their Olympic project - an Evaluation Commission appointed by the IOC will visit each city to prepare a technical risk assessment to assist IOC members in electing the host.

The report will be made available to IOC members prior to a two-day briefing that provides the members with the opportunity to question the cities directly about their Olympic projects.