It’s official: the race for the Winter Games in 2026 will have 7 starters. The IOC announced this Tuesday, April 3, at midday, in a press release published on its official website. Seven national Olympic committees have expressed by letter their intention to embark on the adventure, by the deadline of Saturday March 31 set by the Olympic institution.

The list of applicants includes all the previously announced starters, plus a last-minute guest. In the first camp, the Austrians from Graz and Schladming, the Canadians from Calgary, the Italians from Milan, Turin and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Japanese from Sapporo, the Swedes from Stockholm, the Swiss from Sion.

In the department of surprises, the Turks of Erzurum. The city located in the northeast of the country was mentioned last year as a possible candidate, then its name disappeared from conversations. He was back in the news at the end of last week.

With a list of 7 projects, the CIO can rub his hands. The casting presents well. It brings together five European files, one Asian application and another North American one. With the exception of Lillehammer, in Norway, all the announced starters have achieved their ambition. A first victory for the IOC.

Thomas Bach greeted her without holding back his words. “ I sincerely welcome the interest shown by the NOCs and cities in hosting the Winter Olympic Games, assured the German leader. The IOC has turned a page when it comes to Olympic candidacies. Our goal is not just to have a record number of applications. What we ultimately want is to choose the best possible city to host the best Winter Olympic Games for the best athletes on the planet."

At this stage of the process, daring to begin with a prognosis comes down to wanting to guess the future in the stars. According to the new situation put in place by the IOC, the seven starters are not yet candidates. They are only continuing the “ dialogue phase », during which the IOC offers everyone “ increased support, technical advice, communications assistance and information to help them develop the best possible Olympic project. »

At the end of this phase, the IOC Executive Board will make its choice among the applicants. It will retain good students to elevate them to the more enviable rank of candidates. A list that the next session of the Olympic organization will then have to validate, in October 2018, on the sidelines of the Youth Games in Buenos Aires.

How many will there be at the time of the more formal launch of the candidacy campaign? Mystery. Recent events have shown that anything can happen, especially the worst. One thing is certain: it is not in the interest of the IOC to reduce the list of applicants for pleasure. Files that are still relevant next fall will therefore have a serious chance of passing the Executive Commission's "cut".

The host city for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be elected by the IOC session in September 2019.