Switzerland Could Make A 2030 Winter Olympics Bid

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Salt Lake City would rather host the 2034 Winter Games.

Switzerland may be bidding for the 2030 Winter Olympics which may be welcome news for the Salt Lake City group that wants the 2034 Winter Olympics. Salt Lake City backers have said the group would take the 2030 event if no one wants the Games but the group would rather host the 2034 Winter Olympics. The Salt Lake City backers are of the opinion that with Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics that having two Olympics in the space of about 18 months might not be that appealing to marketing partners and it would be better if there was a five-and-a-half-year gap between the two athletic events. The Swiss National Olympic Committee told the insidethegames website that “it is assessing the feasibility of staging the Games in 2030 or later and plans to be a host country rather than push a single Alpine region to hold the event. St. Moritz hosted the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948 but Swiss citizens repeatedly have voted against hosting the Games in various referendums.

Sweden has an interest in holding the 2030 Winter Olympics. Various political and business leaders in the country have wanted the event in the past. The bids never developed because the presumed host city Stockholm was uninterested. Stockholm was the host of the 1912 Olympics. Sweden does not have existing venues that currently hold major international competitions in speed skating, bobsled, luge and skeleton. It was thought that Sapporo, Japan was the favorite to land the 2030 event. But the Sapporo, Japan bid was 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. The IOC cannot find a 2030 Winter Olympics host.

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International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP