Sweden gains government backing for 2030 Winter Olympics bid
The Swedish Government has declared its backing for the Swedish Olympic Committee’s (SOK) endeavour to secure the hosting rights for the 2030 Winter Olympic and Winter Paralympic Games.
Focusing on the anticipated economic benefits, the Swedish Government is supporting the bid, envisaging positive outcomes from hosting the prestigious sporting event.
While the bid primarily revolves around Stockholm as host city, various events are planned to be dispersed across the nation, with Åre, Östersund and Falun identified as potential sites if the bid proves successful.
“The government notes the great interest shown by Swedish businesses in a Winter Games in Sweden,” a statement the Swedish Government said.
“A prerequisite for the government’s support for a Swedish Olympic bid is that the business community contributes to the sponsorship revenues calculated in the Games budget.”
Sweden, aspiring to host the Winter Olympics for the first time, would be only the second Scandinavian nation to do so, following Norway’s capital Oslo hosting in 1952.
Joining Switzerland and France, Sweden is the third country to announce its bid for the 2030 games.
Switzerland’s proposal, unveiled on October 20, envisions a groundbreaking approach, hosting the Olympics across the entire country rather than confining it to a single city. France’s bid, disclosed in November, aims for the games to be held in the adjacent regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in Southern France.
The decision on the host for both the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games is scheduled to be made at the 142nd IOC Session in 2024. The host for the 2034 games is expected to be chosen from the unsuccessful bids for 2030 and Salt Lake City in the United States, which has expressed a preference for 2034 over 2030.
In 2017, the IOC awarded the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to Paris and Los Angeles, respectively. The upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics will be hosted in the Milan-Cortina region of Northern Italy, following the 2022 edition in Beijing, China.
Image credit: s.yume
