The International Olympic Committee has confirmed the only bidder for the 2030 Winter Olympic Games is France, which is hosting the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024, and has hosted the Winter Games three times since 1924.
The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday confirmed that the French Alps and Salt Lake City, in the US state of Utah, are the only candidates in the running to host the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games.
It aims to award them both at the IOC session in Paris in July.
The two projects stood out for “their vision for the athlete experience, their alignment with regional and national socio-economic development plans, and their very strong support from the public and from all levels of government," said Karl Stoss, head of the IOC's future host commission
France’s bid for the 2030 Games is based around towns in the Alps: Meribel, Courchevel and Val d'Isere for alpine skiing, with La Clusaz hosting nordic events.
The Olympic village would be in Nice, on the Mediterranean, which would also host skating events.
France hosted the Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix, in 1968 in Grenoble and in 1992 in Albertville.
Salt Lake City, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002, had initially intended aimed for the 2030 Games, but dropped the bid because it was too close to the 2028 summer Games in Los Angeles.
It is the only city that launched a bid for the 2034 Games, and its plan relies on existing venues and requires not significant investments, according to the IOC.
Sweden and Switzerland had been interested in hosting the 2030 Games, and the IOC said that Switzerland would enter "privileged dialogue" for a bid for the 2038 Games, and it would not engage in discussions with other potential hosts.
(with newswires)
