Swiss Olympic continues to finesse its 2038 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games bid forward, and on Monday the sports governing body released preliminary plans that feature a highly decentralized venue concept that leverages existing facilities. Designed to reduce costs and risks and to create stakeholders across the nation, the plan lacks the potential for a cohesive Olympic community that past Winter Games have provided.
Officials claim that this would be the first-ever Olympics hosted by an entire country with 10 cantons and 14 municipalities directly involved in the organization.
It has been clear that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) wants the Winter Games to return to the home of its headquarters for the first time since St. Moritz staged the event in 1948 and 1928, but local politics, taxpayer appetites and the nature of the traditional bid process has rendered a future Swiss Winter Olympics unattainable. That’s why in 2024 the IOC selected Switzerland as the only candidate to bid for the 2038 edition, giving potential organizers three-and-a-half years to develop plans and gain crucial government and public support before other regions are allowed into the race.
The so-called ‘privileged dialogue’ between Swiss Olympic and the IOC was new and made possible by recent bid reforms putting the site selection process decisions largely in the hands of the Executive Board. But with the election of new IOC president Kirsty Coventry last year and a promise that the bid process would be reviewed and updated, this exclusive window could close. Last year IOC’s executive director Christophe Dubi told GamesBids.com that the results of the bid process review will be “factored in” to the 2038 Bid.
Past bids by Switzerland have been tenuous projects requiring complex government approvals and often referendums that were difficult to defend due to the time constraints of the process. The protective window was designed to allow Swiss Olympic to carefully manage these obstacles for a greater chance of success. A plan that spreads out the risk across multiple regional governments and allows for private financing opportunities is designed to avoid any possible referendum.
Public support for the concept recently polled with about two-thirds but the Swiss have been known to topple bids with referendums as they did with the nation’s latest Sion 2026 bid and others previously. It is unclear whether a vote will be required for 2038 but it will be up to the government to determine if one will be required in this case. If so, the IOC supports and encourages such referendums to add clarity to the decision.
Last September the Swiss government pledged its support for the bid to engage in discussions with the IOC but the Federal Council will still be required to sign financial guarantees.
The project is budgeted to cost 2.2 billion Swiss francs (USD $2.76 billion) with 82 percent expected to be privately financed. About 190 million Swiss francs (USD $238 million) will come from the federal government along with cantons and municipalities. While there are no public deficit guarantees in the plan, there is a 10 percent reserve and a 200 million Swiss francs privately funded guarantee.
More than 80 percent of the athletes will be accommodated in one of three clusters, according to plans, including French-speaking Switzerland, Central Switzerland (Lucerne), and Graubünden.
Proposed Sport Venues Olympic Winter Games
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The opening ceremony will be staged in Olympic Capital Lausanne, home to IOC headquarters and host of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games. The closing ceremony will be over 100 km away in Bern.
Bern will also be the site for both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Games.
Proposed Sport Venues Paralympic Winter Games
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This year the federal government will be key in moving the bid forward. According to a Swiss Olympic statement “the Federal Council will launch a consultation process and subsequently decide on a fundamental policy and planning resolution, which will then be debated in Parliament.”
The IOC had said that by the end of 2027 they will decide if Switzerland’s bid is acceptable, however there is no formal schedule in place for awarding the 2038 Winter Games. Results of the Olympic bid process review are expected sometime later this year.
The feasibility of a widespread venue plan will be tested next month in Italy at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games. With venues spread across Northern Italy and the key clusters – Milan and Cortina – over 400 km apart, questions surround the athlete experience with national teams split for the duration of the Games and full teams unable to attend a single opening or closing ceremony. Spectators, officials and the media will face transportation and accommodation challenges if they plan to attend multiple sports.
Obstacles for a Swiss national bid could be even more daunting, with some critics equating what should be the biggest winter sports event on the calendar to individual world championships.
The 2030 Winter Games are set for French Alps with ice venues in Nice and snow events staged further north. In 2034 Utah in the United States will host in a tight cluster surrounding Salt Lake City on the compact footprint used for the 2002 edition.
