International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach confirmed on Friday Beijing will host the Winter Games in 2022. This will make the Chinese capital the first city to have hosted both the Summer and the Winter Olympics, after the city hosted the Summer Games back in 2008.

The Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan had put in a bid to host the Winter Olympics as well and came very close to getting the honor. It was no surprise that Beijing, which achieved a great deal of commercial success with the games in 2008, won the chance to host once again. But what was interesting was how close the competition between China and Kazakhstan became.

Beijing received 44 votes from International Olympic Committee delegates while Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, received 40.

"It really is a safe choice," Bach said of Beijing. "We know China will deliver on its promises."

Taking the committee president's comments into account, the decision to go with China seems to have come down to predictability in the end.

Still, some IOC voters might have taken other factors into their consideration. In a telephone interview with The New York Times, David Wallechinsky, the president of the International Society of Olympic Historians, speculated on the agendas at work behind some of the votes.

“Forty-four people voted for Beijing, but what are their motivations? A large number of the voters represent countries who don’t even take part in the Winter Olympics," Wallechinsky said.

“They may be thinking about how voting for China could help them down the road or how a few weeks in Beijing may be more preferable to a few weeks in Almaty."

As reported by CNN, former speedskating gold medal winner Zhang Hong voiced her joy at the news that the Olympics will return to China, saying, "I am so excited. This is China's pride."