The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Future Host Commission will visit the French Alps in April to assess the region’s 2030 Winter Games bid, the organization confirmed Wednesday.
That was the extent of planning the IOC would offer during an online press conference held after a quarterly Executive Board meeting at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“Dates and details [are] currently being discussed by both teams,” IOC Communications Director Mark Adams said in a prepared statement.
Last November French Alps was named the preferred candidate to host the 2030 Winter Olympics, outlasting bids from Sweden and Switzerland. Salt Lake City was named 2034 Winter Games preferred candidate at the same time. Both cities submitted bid documents before the February 29th deadline.
While Salt Lake City’s bid – a project almost a decade in development – submitted a complete and extensive dossier, the French file was somewhat lighter and reportedly offered unconfirmed venue options that still need to be worked out. France entered the 2030 race last summer leaving the bid less time to prepare plans than rivals that started their projects earlier.
Early this month the IOC and the Salt Lake City 2034 bid committee released details of a planned visit from the Future Host Commission from April 9 to 13. The IOC commission is expected to leverage that site inspection to complete an evaluation report and offer a recommendation to the Executive Board before a June 12 meeting. That would set up the planned July 24 election by the IOC Session in Paris ahead of the Olympic Games.
The French project is on the same timeline yet no specific dates or plans for a visit have been announced. Officials assured that interested local media would be given a briefing ahead of the visit, similar to what was offered to Salt Lake City reporters last week.
Both cities are required to submit guarantee files, covering things such as venue availability and government support, by March 29.
The bid files have not been released to the public but French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) president and IOC member David Lappartient admitted that the proposed Méribel-Courchevel ski cluster might have capacity issues and Val d’Isère could be added as a backup. There had also been some concern over the construction of a new arena for hockey in Nice while the IOC advocates that no venues should be built for the Games.
IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi shrugged off any concerns when questioned by GamesBids.com during the press conference.
“I feel it’s a very luxurious position to be in actually when you have the choice of several venues, it’s now a matter for all the local experts to determine what are the best options,” he said.
“But one thing I can tell you is we have all the material needed to ensure that the competitions will be at the highest possible level, so absolutely no concern but it’s a conversation that needs to happen.
“And we look forward to seeing the result of this consultation at the time of the visit.”
The apparent venue indecision comes while Brisbane’s already awarded 2032 Summer Games is undergoing renewed local scrutiny and major venue changes due to cost concerns. Reports have emerged that the government has considered canceling the event altogether, while others fear new venue proposals that include a significantly downscaled Olympic Stadium would result in national embarassment.
IOC President Thomas Bach dismissed the reports as “mere speculation” and “some kind of fake news.”
