The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) regions wish to submit a joint bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2030, with the ambition of taking environmental issues into account.
The two regions, on which the Alps are located, and the French Olympic and Paralympic sports committees “have come together to consider” this candidacy, it is explained in a press release published on Tuesday July 18. “Joint work, involving all the relevant state services, will be carried out in the coming weeks”, they specify, with a decision expected in mid-September.
“Our conviction is that [with] a duel of two French candidates, nothing would have been good,” Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region president Laurent Wauquiez told AFP.
The approach is being taken as part of a reflection on the Winter Games, taking into account the “essential changes desired” by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it is specified in the press release. This concerns in particular “taking into account the issues related to the preservation of biodiversity and the acceleration of global warming”, “the need to use existing infrastructures, some of which are from the Albertville Olympic Games in 1992” or even “the essential reduction of organizational costs” and funding “essentially through private revenue (partners, ticketing, etc.)”.
Other cities already candidates
“Our goal is to come to embody this turning point in the spirit of Olympism. We want to be able to hold the first sustainable Winter Olympics. Anchored in the territories, which are turning the page on gigantism, ”explained Mr. Wauquiez.
The President of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), David Lappartient, meanwhile welcomed “the opportunity to continue the momentum of the Games (…) of Paris 2024”.
Other cities have expressed their interest in organizing these Olympics.
Unlucky candidate against Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Sweden entered the second phase of the candidacy process in June and is the favorite. This flagship nation of Nordic skiing has never organized the Winter Olympics.
Salt Lake City, a candidate known for several years and already host in 2002, is also in the running: but because of the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, the Mormon capital now prefers 2034, while remaining available for 2030.
The awarding of the 2030 Olympics will take place at the latest during the IOC session preceding the opening of the Paris Summer Games, the organization confirmed in mid-June.
France has already hosted the Winter Olympics three times, in Chamonix in 1924, in Grenoble in 1968 and in Albertville in 1992.