With the 2014 Winter Olympic Games being hosted in Sochi, Tromso Norway and Munich Germany are now considering bidding for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
Aftenposten reports that would-be organizers of a Tromso Winter bid were quite pleased that Russia won the 2014 Games. They were concerned their chances would be spoiled if Salzburg had been awarded the Games, because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) generally likes to move the event around the world, geographically speaking.
Also, if Russia had lost the 2014 Games it would likely have tried again for 2018 and would be a tough competitor for Norway.
Norwegian sports bureaucrat Arne Myhrvoid told Aftenposten, “now we avoid a major rival in four years”.
Brjorge Stensbol of the Tromso 2018 bid committee, said, “it means we are a step closer. He told the Nordlys newspaper that the IOC decision improved Tromso’s chances.
Petter Jansen, president of Tromso 2018, told Verdens Gang, that the three 2014 bids shared three common traits. “First, all wanted to organize compact Games. Second, they were focused on organizing competitions to suite athletes, and finally all had an environmental focus. Jansen, who was at the IOC meeting in Guatemala, added that while Tromso did not have to face competition from Sochi, “other strong candidates were likely to emerge”.
Another possible candidate for the 2018 Games is Munich Germany, who, according to the Associated Press is considering bidding for the 2018 Games for the same reason as Tromso.
Mayor Christian Ude said Thursday that if Germany’s national Olympic Association decides in favour of a bid then “Munich is well equipped and hard to top”.
Following Salzburg’s defeat Ude said that “even more arguments speak in favour of a German bid”.
Munich hosted the Summer Olympics in 1972.
The German Olympic Sports Federation is to discuss a possible bid on July 24.
Federation general director Michael Vesper said, “for everyone in sports (the) Olympic Games in one’s own country are a dream. However, we must examine and weigh very closely the prospects of success – also from the point of view of how financially costly a bid is”.
