2026 Host City Election
A New Approach to the Candidature Process
In line with Olympic Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, the new Candidature Process is based on increased flexibility and an in-depth dialogue with the IOC and the Olympic Movement. It has been redesigned to enable cities and NOCs to have more sustainable, feasible and cost-effective Olympic Games, and to align with their local, regional and national long-term development goals.
Development of the Process
The Candidature Process 2024 was the first to receive the full benefits of Olympic Agenda 2020 from start to finish. It also had a positive impact on earlier candidatures and Games Organising Committees. For example, the new collaborative approach helped identify USD 2.2 billion in savings in capital investments for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
This positive impact of Olympic Agenda 2020 prompted the IOC to consider further initiatives. In 2016, the IOC established the Olympic Winter Games Strategic Review Working Group to seek ways to enhance the Olympic Winter Games to make them more sustainable and less impactful in financial, operational and environmental terms.
Following the publication of the Working Group’s recommendations, the IOC created an IOC Vice-Presidents Working Group to establish the Candidature Process for 2026 with a special focus on reducing costs, simplifying procedures and providing more support.
The New Norm
"The New Norm" focuses on six recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020 related to the organisation of the Games and is an ambitious set of 118 reforms.
The New Norm reimagines how the Olympic Games are organised.
It provides more flexibility in designing the Games to meet long-term development plans and ensures that cities seeking to host the Games receive more support and assistance from the Olympic Movement before, during and after the athletes hit the Field of Play.
The plan presents more than 100 measures of revised services and requirements that could lead to maximum savings of hundreds of millions of dollars in the organisation of Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The IOC has reshaped the candidature process, is transforming how the Games are delivered and is focused on long-term development plans well before host cities are even announced.
Through it all, the IOC, together with International Federations, National Olympic Committees, TOP partners, and broadcasters, will work with cities every step of the way to ensure the Games are affordable, beneficial and sustainable.
See what The New Norm looks like and find out more on the New Norm here.
Further Reading
Detailed documentation for the Candidature Process 2026 has been published, including the Candidature Process, the Candidature Questionnaire, Olympic Winter Games in Numbers and Delivering Success: Engagement, Legacy and Vision.