The International Olympic Committee hopes it does.
Will Sweden bail out the International Olympic Committee and bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics? Maybe yes or maybe no. Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is not saying yes nor is he saying no and warned not to draw any “hasty conclusions”. Sweden is doing a feasibility study about hosting the event and will release the findings on April 20th. Sweden had an interest in holding the 2022 and 2026 Winter Olympics but the bids never developed because the presumed host city Stockholm was uninterested. Stockholm was the host of the 1912 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee is in a tough spot. The 2030 bidding candidates have had a host of problems and Salt Lake City is the only one left standing. There are those in Utah and in the United States who prefer to delay an Olympics bid until the 2034 Games become available.
It was thought by some in the IOC community that Sapporo, Japan was the favorite to land the 2030 event. But the Sapporo, Japan bid has been put on ice because of a bribery scandal surrounding the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The 2030 Vancouver, British Columbia bid appears to be dead as local politicians think there are better ways to spend public money than throwing loonies at a two-week sports gathering. But there is a red flag associated with Salt Lake City’s bid. The United States Olympic And Paralympic Committee has some reservations about hosting an Olympics just 18 months or so after the 2028 Los Angeles summer event. The USOPC may be worried about approaching marketing partners for billions of dollars in revenues so soon after Los Angeles and it appears the USOPC would rather get the 2034 winter event. A joint bid between Switzerland and France and Italy never materialized. The IOC is hoping Sweden comes through.
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