Lausanne, Nov 21: Stockholm’s city council publicly supported Sweden’s latest bid to get the 2030 Olympics ahead of key meetings Tuesday for potential Winter Games hosts.
An International Olympic Committee panel is taking online presentations from would-be hosts to prepare for decisions scheduled next week.
The IOC executive board aims to pick preferred candidates for staging the Winter Games in 2030 and 2034 when it meets in Paris over three days through December 1.
While Salt Lake City in Utah is widely favoured for 2034 — 32 years after hosting the 2002 Olympics — the options for 2030 are Sweden, France and Switzerland. The Swiss bid needs to win a vote on Friday of national sports bodies to advance.
The IOC last month set a target of next July for its members — meeting in Paris on the eve of the 2024 Summer Games — to rubber stamp back-to-back winter hosts recommended by the Olympic body’s board.
Sweden is in the race again after eight failed Winter Games bids. It was a surprise entry this year after long-time 2030 favourite Sapporo in Japan faded amid investigations of bribery linked to preparing for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. (AP)
