- Host City of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games to be decided in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur, 18 September 2012 – Malaysia has once again gained the trust of the international community by Kuala Lumpur’s recent successful bid to host the 127th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in 2015.

The prestigious event is expected to receive the arrival of approximately 1,500 international delegates to Kuala Lumpur. These delegates will include IOC members and their accompanying guests, IOC Honorary Members, representatives of Host Cities of future Olympic Games, Bid Cities of the 2020 Olympic Games, sponsors /partners of the IOC and staff members of the IOC. It is also estimated that the occasion would also be joined by an additional 1,500 members of the print and electronic media.

Supported by the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Mr. Zulkefli Hj. Sharif, Chief Executive Officer, MyCEB comments, “It is an exciting moment for us and an outstanding milestone to have secured this bid. This is due to a particular significance of the session, whereby the Host City of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games will be selected and announced.” Zulkefli continued, “For the announcement to be made in Kuala Lumpur will definitely made a positive impact on the country and at MyCEB, we couldn’t be even more encouraged to pursue our mission in positioning Malaysia as Asia’s business events hub”.

As the session will be stretching up to a seven-day span, including a build up over a fortnight, IOC is estimating the requirement of 8,000 rooms around the city to accommodate participants. The session is expected to garner approximately RM 26 million (EUR 6.6 million / USD8.4 million) in economic impact to the country.

YAM Tunku Tan Sri Imran ibni Al-marhum Tuanku Ja’afar, President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) expressed, “The hosting of this session marks Malaysia’s entry into the ranks of other Asian countries that has previously hosted this prestigious meet such as China, Japan, Korea and Singapore. This is no doubt a prestigious meeting of which we are thoroughly proud to be a part of. We are grateful to the IOC for choosing Malaysia and recognising our determination and hard work to ensure the success of the bid”.

Established in 1894, the IOC is an international non-governmental not-for-profit organisation, of unlimited duration recognized by the Swiss Federal Council. Today, the committee consist a maximum of 115 persons as members and about 15 persons who have retired from the IOC but have been appointed as Honorary Life members. It is the most influential sports organisation in the world in connection with multisport Games, with ownership of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Winter Games and the Olympic Youth Games.

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International Enquiry:

Ms. Ho Yoke Ping
General Manager, Sales and Marketing
Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau
Tel: +603 2034 2090 • Fax: +603 2034 2091 •Email: pingho@myceb.com.my

NOTE TO EDITORS

About the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB)
MyCEB was established in 2009 by Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia to further strengthen Malaysia’s business tourism brand and position for the international meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market. A non-profit organisation, MyCEB serves as a central hub to assist meeting and event planners to bid for and stage international business events in Malaysia and act as a conduit for national product development. MyCEB’s goal is to improve its rankings as an international meetings destination within International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and to grow business tourism arrivals to Malaysia.

As a measure to further develop the international events industry, MyCEB has launched a specialist unit known as the International Events Unit (IEU) which focuses on identifying and supporting international event bids including sports, art and culture and lifestyle events. The IEU’s goal is to identify and assist homegrown events with the potential to attract international publicity and international attendances.

In November 2011, MyCEB unveiled its new tagline, ‘Malaysia – Asia’s Business Events Hub’ which encompasses its aim to communicate Malaysia’s proposition as a gateway to Asia for meetings – where many of Asia’s diverse cultures, languages and lifestyles are represented and have merged through a long history of trade and meetings.

For more information, please visit www.myceb.com.my