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IOC set to visit French Alps to examine 2030 Winter Olympics bid April 22 to 26

"The objective of this visit is to provide a deep dive into the proposal and the local context, with a view to election by the IOC Session in July" - IOC

Martin Fourcade, five-time Olympic biathlon champion, has thrown his support behind the French Alps 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (Photo: CNOFS)
Martin Fourcade, five-time Olympic biathlon champion, has thrown his support behind the French Alps 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (Photo: CNOFS)

The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Future Host Commission (FHC) will travel to the French Alps to further review the region’s bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2030.

The visit, to include venue tours and meetings with the bid committee and key stakeholders, will take place April 22-26 the IOC confirmed Monday in a statement.

“The objective of this visit is to provide a deep dive into the proposal and the local context, with a view to election by the IOC Session in July,” the IOC explained in a statement.

French Alps was chosen as the preferred candidate to host the 2030 edition last November when the IOC’s Executive Board put it ahead of bids from Switzerland and Sweden. That means the bid only needs to pass due diligence by June before the EB sends it to the IOC Session in Paris for a likely rubberstamping by the membership.

The election is scheduled for July 24, just ahead of the Paris Olympics.

The same 15 member IOC team comprised of FHC members, executives and other experts is set to arrive in Salt Lake City next Tuesday to begin a visit designed to examine United States’ bid to host the 2034 edition. The Utah capital has been named preferred candidate to host its second Games.

While the French Alps Games would occur four years earlier, planning is behind that of Salt Lake City. The French bid emerged last year and when venue plans were to be submitted to the IOC this February, various options were still under consideration and not yet finalized.

Resolving these plans could be central in discussions during the visit.

A senior producer and award-winning journalist covering Olympic bid business as founder of GamesBids.com as well as providing freelance support for print and Web publications around the world. Robert Livingstone is a member of the Olympic Journalists Association and the International Society of Olympic Historians.

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