Christophe Dubi, the director of the Olympic Games at the IOC, explained it this week on the sidelines of the Executive Board meeting: no less than six countries have expressed an interest in hosting the next Winter Games. “ You know them all, with the exception of a sixth country which has not yet declared itself but which is speaking to us and has not entered into a phase of permanent dialogue., he told the media. Five known applicants, therefore, plus a surprise guest. In the first camp, Switzerland, the United States (Salt Lake City), Canada (Vancouver), Sweden and Japan (Sapporo). In the second, mystery. In France, the candidacies of the Southern Alps and the Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne region have been mentioned, but the governance crisis at the National Olympic Committee casts doubt on any concrete progress in the project. But Christophe Dubi let it be understood: the IOC is not ruling out the option of a double vote 2030/2034. In such a scenario, Sweden and Switzerland could compete for the attribution of the 2030 edition, with the three other known files – Salt Lake City, Sapporo and Vancouver – and the sixth guest focusing instead on the next one.
