Plans for three European nations to join forces and bid to host the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games have emerged, and the outcome could shape the way Winter Olympics are staged in the foreseeable future.
A powerful combination of France, Switzerland and Italy are working closely with Espace Mont-Blanc – a cross-border cooperation initiative to protect and foster the development of the mountainous area where the nations intersect – and currently developing a project to bid for the Winter Games in 2030, Swiss-based Le Temps reported Wednesday.
Venues in the Chamonix, Valais and Aosta regions are being positioned for a European super bid, taking advantage of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) bid process changes that now allow cross-border proposals and require climate capable hosts.
The IOC had intended to close the door to new applicants for 2030 last month and position one or more candidates for a host election in 2023, but the race was postponed instead when no viable candidates remained available. Sapporo pressed ‘pause’ on its bid at the last minute as it dealt with the political fallout of the Tokyo 2020 corruption scandal that has since soured public support across Japan. Vancouver’s project remains in hiatus after the Canadian bid was denied provincial government funding, and U.S. officials have made clear that they would prefer Salt Lake City to host in 2034 instead. Last year Ukraine was forced to drop plans to bid after the Russian military invasion, and Spain’s plans imploded when joint-partners couldn’t agree on the venue allocation.
The IOC said last month that no host would be named in 2023 and new applicants would be considered while the site selection committee takes time to investigate how the climate crisis will impact hosting requirements in the future.
That opened the door for the European trio to present what could be an unbeatable bid. But the Mont Blanc project will face an uphill battle if it hopes to receive consideration from the IOC.
Officials are reportedly reluctant to back a new project after several referendum losses by Swiss bids over the past decade. In 2018 voters in Valais refused to fund a 2026 Games and similar lost votes in 2013 and 2017 in other Swiss regions ended bids to host in 2022 and 2026. Valais capital Sion has lost three straight Winter Games bids in 1976, 2002 and 2006. Switzerland hosted the most recent Youth Olympic Winter Games in Olympic capital Lausanne in 2020.
Any future Swiss bid will face fierce opposition.
Italy’s involvement may be even more challenging since the same region is already set to host the preceding 2026 Winter Games as part of the joint Milan-Cortina project. Turin hosted Italy’s most recent Games in 2006.
France, now preparing to host the Paris 2024 Summer Games, doesn’t seem to have obstacles in this bid. Chamonix already hosted the event in 1924 and Grenoble staged the 1968 edition. Albertville hosted for France in 1992, but the nation’s last bid for 2018 was lost by Annecy.
Even if 2030 doesn’t work out, the Mont Blanc project may be well suited for the IOC’s proposed Winter Games host rotation. The IOC said last month that it is considering choosing a permanent pool of climate capable hosts to stage the Games, providing stability for the Olympic Movement while host choices are dwindling. Having three of the most significant Winter Olympic nations involved as a single host region could set a European model that might be replicated on the other continents to complete the rotation.
The IOC cautioned that the rotation concept is speculative at this early stage, but the organization tends to move quickly on proposed concepts and it wouldn’t be surprising to see other bids, such as Espace Mont Blanc, start developing so that they don’t miss out on a long-term opportunity.
Last month the Chamonix-based Espace Mont-Blanc organization published a regional climate change report that examined historical below-freezing temperature data for its mountainous regions, the same data the IOC says it will now require to determine whether a future host is climate capable.
Update (1/5/2023): Mayor of Chamonix, France said his town will not be involved in the proposed joint bid, effectively ruling out the proposed project.
