It might seem puzzling that Asia is getting three Olympics in a row. South Korea has the 2018 Winter Games, Japan has the 2020 Summer Games and China has the 2022 Winter Games. Shouldn't the International Olympic Committee spread the wealth a bit more?
It's not that simple, because Olympic host city selection is a complicated interplay between the political and economic environments of the world when the host city selection process is playing out. This run of Olympics is happening in Asia largely because of the financial crisis in 2008.
The bidding for the 2018 Games began in summer 2009. Back then, you may recall, the world was just beginning to shake off an economic crisis. While stock markets were recovering, the unemployment rate in the U.S. continued to climb and was approaching 10 percent, and a sovereign debt crisis was still destabilizing Europe. This was not the best environment for politicians in democratically governed countries to submit bids to host an expensive global spectacle.