Preferred candidates to host the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympics are expected to deliver key presentations Tuesday as they move closer to election this summer.
Winter Olympic Federations (WOF), the collective representing body of winter sports that are on the Games program, will receive 25 minute virtual presentations from both the French Alps 2030 bid and the Salt Lake City, Utah 2034 (SLC-UT) bid. Each presentation will be followed by a 35 minute question and answer period.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the meetings are planned components of the targeted dialogue process with French Olympic and Paralympic Committees (CNOSF and CPSF) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and are not open to the public, so no specific scheduling has been published. According to the IOC “the WOF is the qualified spokesperson dealing with specific questions connected with winter sports in general, and with the Olympic Games in particular.”
WOF representatives Colin Grahamslaw, the Secretary General of the World Curling Federation from Britain, and Latvian Einars Fogelis of the International Luge Federation (FIL) are already part of the IOC’s Future Host Commission that in April visited venues proposed by both bids.
SLC-UT wouldn’t name members of its planned online delegation but told GamesBids.com that there will be “no surprises.”
“There will be representation from our bid leadership team, from [the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee] USOPC and from some of our communities,” a spokesperson said.
“The presentation will focus on the vision and venue master plan, all with a focus on the sustainability of the plan as it relates to Agenda 2020+5. To that point, our living legacy, which is very much alive from 2002, as well as our venue master plan with every sport on the program being in a proven venue within an hour of the Athlete Village, will be a key component. Also, our unique family services plan.”
A French Alps 2030 spokesperson described the meeting as “standard process for discussion as part of the targeted dialogue” but offered no further comments.
The Future Host Commission will use the files submitted by the bids earlier this year along with data from the on-site visits in April and feedback from other meetings – including Tuesday’s WOF presentations – to develop evaluation reports that will be delivered to the IOC Executive Board next month. The Commission will also offer the Board recommendations based on the results.
That Board, meeting from June 12-14 in Lausanne, Switzerland, will decide whether to send the bids to the next IOC Session for possible election.
If French Alps and SLC-UT are given the nod to move forward they will have a final opportunity to present their projects to the full IOC membership at the 142nd Session to be held in Paris on June 24 just two days ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games. The elections will immediately follow.
The steps in the process mark careful planning and collaboration among the partners, but the decision-making milestones ahead of the election are mainly symbolic. Both bids are running unopposed and are expected to be rubberstamped by members at the final vote.
The IOC has already acknowledged that the final vote will be unlike those of the past as Olympic Charter rules around fair elections will be ignored. The final vote for the French Alps bid will be held in the nation’s capital even as the Charter forbids host elections within the borders of one of the candidates to avoid any conflicts of interest.
Last November IOC Corporate Communications Director Christian Klaue dismissed any concerns and said on X (formerly Twitter) “As with the new approach to electing hosts and only one Preferred Host in the Targeted Dialogue, there is no risk of any unfair advantage or campaigning around a host election.”
But members must still approve the bids, and one can imagine how daunting it would be to vote against a French Winter Games just hours before a Summer Games in Paris.
The Preferred Hosts have been invited to present to WOF on the following topics (according the the IOC):
Their vision
- For sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, as it relates to Olympic Agenda 2020+5, in particular the maximum use of existing/temporary venues and how their Games project aligns with long-term city/regional development plans
- For Games-time operations and the individual experience of all stakeholders, in particular:
• Athletes
• International Federations
Their venue masterplan
- A general overview
- All competition and non-competition venues*
- Main transport routes/ transport modes/ travel times
- Main accommodation clusters
*For any construction or venue upgrade in line with long-term development plans: a status overview, financing and long-term use/ benefits for local communities
