Sweden has emerged as the frontrunner to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in Stockholm. It would be the Nordic country’s first time hosting the Olympics since the 1912 Summer Games.
“Our preliminary study shows that Sweden has the opportunity, know-how, and will to arrange the Winter Games in 2030,” Swedish Olympic Committee president Hans von Uthmann said, according to the Associated Press. “The IOC has welcomed us to the next phase.”
Sweden’s bid is reportedly expected to use Are, a ski resort more than 300 miles north of Stockholm, and plans to host events in neighboring country Latvia for bobsled, luge and skeleton races.
Japan was previously considered a lead contender to host the 2030 Games in Sapporo. Still, that potential fit has been marred by allegations that promoters bribed organizers to secure the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Japan’s Olympic Committee has shifted focus to hosting the 2034 Winter Games instead.
Salt Lake City was also a candidate to host the 2030 Olympics, but the AP reports that organizers would prefer a 2034 bid to avoid back-to-back Games being held in the United States, given the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
The next Winter Olympics in 2026 will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, becoming the fourth Olympics to be hosted in Italy. Last year’s Beijing Winter Olympics disappointed NBCUniversal as the record’s lowest-watched U.S. Olympic viewership. The broadcaster owns U.S. rights for the Olympics through 2032.
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