France, the United States and Switzerland: those selected by the International Olympic Committee

The Olympics’ parent body has spoken out about future venues for the Winter Olympics and one of them has sparked negative reaction.

By: Facundo Osa

The situation regarding the choice of venues for the next Winter Olympics was diametrically opposed to that of its summer namesake. While on the other hand, the cities that will host the next three Olympic events have already been confirmed, In winter there was no certainty after Cortina 2026, including the youth of 2028which nearly four years after its completion still has no specific location.

but, The panorama turned 180 degrees last Wednesday, November 29, with the announcements of the Board of Directors of the International Olympic Committeeone year after the original deadline set by the Future Headquarters Committee. By 2030, the parent body announced that French Alps would enter the specific dialogue phase, leaving aside the proposals of Sweden (Air Stockholm) and Switzerland.

The elections were surprising given that France was the last country to join the conflict.So much so that three months ago, Guy Drouot, IOC envoy, confirmed that there was no serious proposal and that work was still underway on coordination between the Northern and Southern Alps. The nomination ended with consideration in the regions of Provence, Auvergne, Alps, Côte d’Azur and the Rhone River, and was celebrated by President Emmanuel Macron on his official networks.

It should be noted that none of the three contenders were among the contenders a year ago as the candidates were Sapporo and Vancouver, both projects that were withdrawn long ago for various reasons. (The wave of corruption that was revealed with the organization of Tokyo 2020 in the case of the first and the loss of popular and governmental support in the case of the second).

Panorama 2034instead of, It has not been modified. Since before the pandemic, Salt Lake City had been aiming to repeat as a host, first doing so in 2002, that year due to the impossibility of running for 2030 due to its proximity to the celebration of the Los Angeles Games in 2028.This will make it difficult to raise the funds needed to implement the event. Thus, the United States will host an Olympic event for the 10th time in its history, with five summer and five winter events remaining.

Today’s surprise was that, amid the uncertainty regarding the years 2030 and 2034, the International Olympic Committee expanded and announced the granting of a “special status” and a special dialogue to Switzerland for the year 2038. In other words, any other city intending to host this year will have a disadvantage compared to its Swiss counterpart from the beginning. If they are able to obtain the approval of the Committee, The Swiss will recover from the failed proposal put forward by canton Graubünden for the 2022 edition, which never materialized due to the cost calculated by then Economy Minister Ueli Maurer and a lack of support from the population.

The biggest loser today was Sweden, Which went from having an almost guaranteed seat in 2030 to being left empty-handed for the ninth time in its history, The third in a row if we take into account that in 2014 he suspended his candidacy for 2022 and that in 2019 he lost the final vote for the 2026 edition to Cortina by a margin of 13 votes. The exclusion of the Nordic countries becomes even more bizarre when a statement issued by the ICRC’s board of directors notes that the project was “technically perfect”.

Despite all these statements… The three cities must continue their work. The IOC’s position only avoids unnecessary expenses for candidates who lose in the event of a vote, but it does not mean that those who are elected have already been confirmed. And in this new phase, both The French Alps, like Salt Lake City, must adjust their projects to meet the requirements of the Future Headquarters Committee For later They will be officially designated as venues for the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympics at the 142nd IOC Session in July 2024.