8. Sweden loses bid again, and again, and again
This is a tale as old as time, it seems. Sweden had seemed to be a frontrunner to host the 2030 Winter Games early in the year only to learn in late November that the IOC had other plans the whole time.
With a multi-cluster project that proposed existing venues in climate-capable regions, it seemed Sweden’s bid – similar to the 2026 bid that was defeated by Milan-Cortina – completed the IOC’s wish list for a Winter Games host. It turned out the IOC had no interest in working with the Swedes who had planned to move forward with little in the way of taxpayer support – by design. Governments and municipalities were behind the project, but no financial guarantees were provided.
This was also the case for the 2026 bid when the IOC encouraged the Swedish project to move forward only to reveal after the election that it was doomed to failure due to weak financial guarantees.
The IOC has chosen the French Alps as the only candidate to host the 2030 event, Salt Lake City for 2034, and Switzerland was given an exclusive four year track to close the deal on a 2038 Games, shutting out everyone else until 2042.
In all, Sweden has now failed nine straight attempts to host the Winter Games and remains the most decorated Winter Olympics nation never to have staged the event.
[Top Story #7 on page 5]
