The French Alps, the only bid selected by the IOC for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games
What if, after Paris 2024, France hosted the 2030 Winter Olympics? The International Olympic Committee has entered into a "targeted dialogue" with France and only France, meaning that only this candidacy has been retained, we learned this Wednesday, November 29. A reversal of the situation seems unlikely.
Le Grand Bornand could become one of the Olympic sites if France's bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics is well selected. AFP - JEFF PACHOUD
By: RFI Follow
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The French Alps' bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2030 took an important step on Wednesday, at the expense of Switzerland and Sweden, by entering into a "targeted dialogue" with the IOC, which will choose the host next year. With this decision of the IOC Executive Board meeting in Paris, France goes from "interested party" to "prospective host" of the competition, even though Paris will already host the Summer Olympics in eight months.
The French Alps, which launched their bid last summer at the same time as Switzerland - Sweden has been in the running since February - must now go through several months of detailed assessment of their application. From the map of the sites, to the planned legacy, to the environmental impact, to the financing and the political support.
The project, which claims to be based on 95% of existing sites, extends from Nice to Le Grand Bornand, nearly 500 km away, with an alpine ski centre at the Courchevel-Méribel and Val d'Isère sites, cross-country skiing in La Clusaz, and an Olympic village based in Nice, as well as the skating events.
Rejection unlikely
If the IOC executive deems the French guarantees sufficient, it will recommend its designation as host of the 2030 Olympics at a session next year. Conversely, if the French application is deemed disappointing, the Olympic body can send the bid back to "permanent dialogue", i.e. start the procedure from scratch. However, this is unlikely with less than seven years to go before the competition.
This new procedure, which turns its back on the traditional votes followed around the world to decide between the candidates, has only been used once, to award the 2021 Olympics in 2032 to the Australian city of Brisbane. It aims to drastically reduce bidding costs (by 80%, according to the IOC), to avoid the public slap in the face of a negative vote for losers, and to maintain a permanent pool of potential candidates: Sweden, already a candidate for the 2026 Olympic Games awarded to Milan-Cortina, and Switzerland, also interested in the 2034 edition, are thus invited to work on their files further.
(
With AFP)
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