France submits 2030 Winter Olympic, Paralympic bid to IOC
French officials submitted a 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic bid to the IOC, which is expected to decide the host by next summer.
The bid expands on plans that were announced in July.
The venue map spreads across four hubs around the Alps in Southeastern France near previous Winter Games hosts Chamonix (1924), Grenoble (1968) and Albertville (1992).
Nice would host the indoor sports of figure skating, hockey, short track speed skating and curling. Nice is 143 miles south of Albertville as the crow flies and more than double that in driving distance.
Details published Tuesday did not appear to include a proposed venue for long-track speed skating. France does not have a speed skating arena that is used on the top-level World Cup, so it's possible that organizers could look for a venue outside of France or propose a temporary facility.
French officials plan to meet with the IOC Future Host Commission on Nov. 21. They also said that the IOC will determine at a meeting from Nov. 29-Dec. 1 which candidate(s) it will invite into "targeted dialogue," or advanced talks about hosting in 2030.
Olympic and Paralympic hosts have traditionally been decided by IOC members vote seven years before the Games, but recent reforms created flexibility on the process and timeline.
The IOC can now enter targeted dialogue with what it deems a “preferred host” candidate.
Another publicly announced 2030 candidate is Sweden. In June, Swedish officials said they entered into a dialogue phase with the IOC regarding the 2030 Games. The Sweden Olympic Committee said the dialogue was expected to last just under six months with a possible final step of targeted dialogue.
A possible Swiss bid for 2030 was announced Oct. 19, pending a sports parliament approval on Nov. 24.
The IOC may decide to award both the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games hosts at next summer's session, which is expected to take place in Paris days before the 2024 Summer Games.
Salt Lake City bids to host either the 2030 or 2034 Winter Games, preferably 2034 as the U.S. is already hosting the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Salt Lake City, which hosted the last Olympics in the U.S. in 2002, has had its bid in place for more than a year.
In 2017, the IOC awarded the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games together to Paris and Los Angeles, respectively.
Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, was previously elected host of the 2026 Winter Games in 2019.
