Switzerland’s national Olympic Committee (Swiss Olympic) is still waiting to hear whether its proposed Winter Olympics bid can be considered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to move to the next phase of the process as the deadline quickly approaches.
Both rivals vying host the 2030 edition, France and Sweden, have already been cleared by relevant governing bodies to further explore their projects beyond the IOC’s planned short list announcement by the Executive Board in Paris from November 28 to December 1. Swiss officials are still waiting for their green light.
“Now it is first up to the Sports Parliament to formally give the okay to those responsible for the project to continue on the path and then up to the IOC, which will determine whether it will invite us into the next phase of the dialogue,” Swiss Olympic president Jürg Stahl told the media during a series of press conferences held in Lausanne and Zurich on Wednesday.
The Swiss Sports Parliament will have to approve plans for the proposed national Winter Olympics bid that focusses on minimal venue construction with a decentralized concept and has support of 67 percent of the population according to a recent poll. The meeting to decide the direction of the bid will be held November 24, less than a week before the IOC has said it will choose any number of bids to move to a targeted dialogue with the intention of putting them on a final ballot in an election tentatively scheduled for next July in Paris.
All three bids will be presenting to the IOC’s Future Host Commission on November 21 with final pitches to be considered for the 2030 Games. Salt Lake City, currently targeting to host in 2034, will also present and the IOC could name the Utah capital as a preferred host at the same Executive Board Meeting. Last month the IOC membership approved a possible double awarding of the 2030 and 2034 editions next year.
With the possible double election any bids that are unsuccessful for 2030, including Switzerland, might have to wait until 2038 for another chance. Swiss organizers have indicated that they could still try to make a case for hosting in 2034 – going squarely against the American city heavily favored to get the nod.
But Swiss Olympic has shown that they may have some doubt in their Winter Olympics plans, proposing other options over the next decade.
A bid is already in the works to host the inaugural FIS Games in 2028, an international event that will bring Olympic and Paralympic ski sports together for 16 days of competition. St. Moritz and Lillehammer Norway were the only two applicants at the November 1 deadline and the winning city is due to be elected next spring.
Swiss Olympic is also considering a run at the popular European Multisport Championships that launched in 2018 in Glasgow and was last held in Munich in 2022 to wide acclaim. Discussions are already underway for the 2026 edition that promises to feature as many as 10 sports and Swiss officials are also looking at 2030.
“It is obvious that we would not organize the European games in 2030 if we obtained the Winter Olympics, but we see possible synergies,” Swiss Olympic director Roger Schnegg said suggesting that Switzerland could host both the 2026 European Championships and the 2030 Winter Olympics.
