Just when Kazakhstan was getting its confidence back along comes the worst snub since Borat. Thanks, International Olympic Committee

IT’S the greatest insult to the world’s ninth largest nation since the movie Borat was released in 2006. Grrrr. We’re furious on Kazakhstan’s behalf.

Actor Sacha Baron Cohen arrives in character as Borat Sagdiyev for the film premiere of 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" in Los Angeles, Oct. 23, 2006. - headshot smiling thumbs /up

IT’S an almighty slap in the face. Actually make that an Almaty slap in the face.

Almaty, if you didn’t know, is a city in Kazakhstan, which you might be interested to learn is the world’s ninth largest country.

Last weekend, as you may have heard, Almaty had its candidacy for host city of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games well and truly rejected. Beijing won the two-horse race, a decision which will make the Chinese capital the first host city of both Summer and Winter Olympics.

There’s only one problem. The mountains outside Beijing don’t have much snow. In fact they don’t have any snow. Well, no natural snow anyway.

Beijing is bitterly cold in winter. The lakes in its parks freeze over in the frigid temperatures, and indeed this reporter has ice skated (in an embarrassingly ungainly fashion) on said icy waterways. But it’s a dry cold, not a snowy cold.

The 2022 Olympic rock skiing championships should make for great viewing.

Because it’s so cold and dry, you can easily make artificial snow in the mountains outside Beijing, where the various outdoorsy Winter Olympic events will be held. So the Games will undoubtedly happen. All the same, it won’t be your typical Christmassy snowscape.

Even at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, where the city itself was snowless, the nearby mountains had plenty of the real stuff. Not Beijing. The photo above was taken in winter, just north of town. Yes, this is winter.

Meanwhile in Kazakhstan, they’ve got loads of real mountains, loads of real snow and they cleverly pitched their bid around the slogan “keeping it real”.

Unfortunately, the only real things that count when it comes to choosing Olympic host cities are money and influence. Viewed through that prism, Beijing was always going to win. Which it did, albeit by the slender margin of 44 votes to 40.

The question is why? What’s in it for Beijing? We put that question to Professor of Chinese Politics and Director of the China Studies Centre, Kerry Brown, at the University of Sydney.

“The northeast [where Beijing and the nearby resorts are/will be located] is an economically challenged area. There’s quite a lot of unemployment, so this could be quite useful,” Professor Brown explained.

“It is also good politically for the Chinese government to deliver an Olympics. The leadership is still relatively new [Xi Jinping has been China’s leader since just 2013] so it’s good for them to say they’ve hosted an Olympics. And they do like hosting these events. It’s a great opportunity to show off what China has done.”

Not a flake of the real stuff in sight. At least the weather will be nice. AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Sure Professor, but didn’t Beijing just host the summer Olympics in 2008? Why do it again — and in a field of sport where the country has little tradition of high level participation or fandom?

“There is a certain vanity side to it,” Professor Brown admitted. “But I think it’s a risk to give the Olympics to an untested country. Barring disaster, the IOC [International Olympic Committee] would have been certain that China is going to be able to deliver an event of this scale.”

Indeed, IOC boss Thomas Bach hailed Beijing as a “safe” choice. But there’s a wider geopolitic at work, as Professor Brown went on to explain.

Wait a minute, it says Beijing here. Is this a typo? AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA

Firstly there’s China’s increasingly prominent role in the Olympic movement.

“China is a huge friend for other countries to have now and I think people know that the IOC is about as political as you can get. I think the IOC is keen to build up support in China and maintain the momentum from 2008.”

Then there’s China’s increasingly important role as the economic hub of the world.

“I think these Games will make sure the world continues to engage with China. Either you engage with China or you don’t take part in these Olympics,” Professor Brown explained.

“We’ll just have to get used to this. I’m sure in the future they’ll get a [FIFA] World Cup, like it or not.”

This is a screen grab from the bid site. We have no idea what it means.

Meanwhile, poor old Kazakhstan is not quite the laughing stock of the world as it was when British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen cruelly but hilariously lampooned a fictitious version of the country in his 2006 film Borat. But Kazakhstan is definitely the loser again.

Can it afford to argue? It cannot. And that’s because, like us here in Australia, Kazakhstan’s economic prosperity is tethered to China. Indeed, 19 per cent of Kazakhstan’s exports go there. Oil and agriculture top the list.

“The majority of their business now goes China’s way,” Professor Brown confirmed. “In a sense it’s disappointing for them to miss out on the Games, but they’re not going to [argue with] a huge economic trading partner because this is one event versus a relationship that will be going on for decades.”

In other important Beijing Winter Olympics news, the bid theme sounds exactly like the song from Frozen. Well it does.

Editors note: The capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, was previously involved in the county’s bid for the games.