A high level meeting involving Bulgaria president Rumen Radev on Monday concluded that a 2028 Winter Youth Olympics bid could be successful but would require a lot of effort and infrastructure improvement.
The president met with Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) secretary general Belcho Goranov, BOC member Vesela Lecheva, Bulgarian Ski Federation chair Tseko Minev and political leaders and sports industry experts to discuss ambitions of hosting a Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) centered in capital Sofia.
According to a statement released by the BOC, the president “emphasized that the organization of such an international sports event, in addition to image, will also have long-term economic and social benefits for our country, and the modernized transport infrastructure will promote tourism and mass sports in our country.”
“The President also reminded that on his initiative in a public discussion was held to overcome decades of administrative irregularities and disagreements between the institutions, the sports community and investors to ensure environmentally friendly access to Vitosha.”
Vitosha is the mountainous area near Sofia that could be leveraged to host snow and ski events.
Sofia has bid for a number of Olympic events in the past including the 2014, 1994 and 1992 Olympic Winter Games – the latter being the most successful after placing second only to Albertville, France in a field of seven candidates.
The city also expressed interest in hosting the 2012 and 2016 Winter YOG, but no concrete bids developed.
The Vitosha mountain is seen as the key to prevailing in 2028.
“The general position was that a potential candidacy of Sofia to host the Winter Youth Olympic Games would have significant advantages over other candidates, due to the unique natural conditions provided by the Vitosha mountain near the capital,” the BOC statement read.
“However, success can only be counted on the timely modernization of the sports infrastructure in accordance with the current standards and procedures of the International Olympic Committee, as well as the efforts of the entire public.”
Lombardy and Trentino in Italy are the only interested parties confirmed by the IOC after the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) announced last year that they were conducting a feasibility study on the potential project. The plan is to leverage the legacy of the scheduled Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games that will be staged in the same region.
The Milan-Cortina organizing committee and the IOC are at odds over the construction of a sliding track for the Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo that started late and needs to be delivered in a short timeframe for the Winter Games. Italian officials have expressed their desire for a viable home track and don’t want to invest in an existing facility across the border, however tracks in Germany and Switzerland are being considered as a backup.
A new track could be part of the Italian proposal for a Winter YOG.
Last September the National Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced it was preparing plans to bid for the Youth Olympics without naming a specific edition. Sarajevo hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984 when part of former Yugoslavia. As capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the city staged the European Youth Olympics Festival (EYOF) in 2019.
There is no set timetable for the awarding of Olympic editions, the IOC Executive Board is guided by the Future Host Commissions and makes decisions and announcements when they are strategic. It is unclear how many regions may be in discussions with the IOC with interest in hosting the YOG in 2028 but executives have mentioned they are considering many options.
At the closing of the 2024 Gangwon Winter YOG in February, IOC President Thomas Bach said a decision on the 2028 host was still months away.
“You can expect an announcement either later this year or at the latest early next year where the next Winter Youth Olympic Games will happen,” Bach said.
“Our commission which is responsible for this needs a little bit more time to evaluate the different projects and then come to a conclusion which would be the most appropriate destination for 2028.”
