Host elections 2030 and 2034
On 24 July 2024, at the 142nd International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Paris, the French Alps were elected host of the XXVI Olympic Winter Games in 2030, receiving 84 ‘yes’ and 4 ‘no’ votes out of 88 valid votes. The same day, Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 was elected host of the XXVII Olympic Winter Games in 2034, receiving 83 ‘yes’ votes and 6 ‘no’ votes, out of 89 valid votes. They were the first Olympic Winter Games hosts to be elected under the IOC’s dialogue approach, fully adopted in 2019. See the “Electing Olympic hosts” factsheet.
The elections were the culmination of two simultaneous Targeted Dialogues, during which all aspects of the proposed visions and plans for the Games were analysed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Targeted Dialogue
The IOC Executive Board (EB) opened Targeted Dialogues for the Olympic Winter Games 2030 and 2034 on 29 November 2023, with the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) invited into the process as Preferred Hosts. This decision was based on the recommendation of the Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games, chaired by IOC Member Karl Stoss, and on the IOC Feasibility Assessments for each of the Interested Parties – French Alps, Sweden, Switzerland 203x and Salt Lake City-Utah.
During this deep dive into the project, French Alps 2030 and Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 were invited to submit a response to the IOC’s Future Host Questionnaire for the Olympic Winter Games, and to provide a number of legal and financial guarantees and assurances to support their Olympic vision and Games plan.
At the end of the process, the Future Host Commission produced two reports, one for 2030 and the other for 2034. Based on these reports, the IOC EB, on 12 June 2024, put forward both Preferred Hosts to the IOC Session for election.
Workshops
As part of services provided during Targeted Dialogue, the IOC organised a number of workshops to share expertise and to help the Preferred Hosts to optimise their Games vision and plan. Topics included: venue masterplan, the economics of the Games, sustainability and legacy, Games governance, technology, event delivery and legal requirements.
Preferred Host presentations
The Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games, the CNOSF and the USOPC made several presentations to IOC Members and Olympic Movement stakeholders in the lead-up to and during the Targeted Dialogues:
- The 141st IOC Session on 15 October 2023 received a report [YouTube: 5:14:10] by the Future Host Commission, presented by Karl Stoss. Given the preliminary findings of a report looking at the impact of climate change on the Olympic Winter Games, the Session approved the principle of a dual election for the Olympic Winter Games 2030 and 2034.
- The Future Host Commission on 21-22 November 2023 received updates from all four Interested Parties for the Olympic Winter Games – France, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.
- The Future Host Commission visited Salt Lake City-Utah and French Alps from 9-13 and 22-26 April 2024 respectively, to see first-hand every venue in the proposed masterplans and to spend time meeting project stakeholders from regional government, civic groups, and the world of sport. The Future Host Commission then met on 22 May 2024 to review their findings from the visits.
- The Preferred Hosts met (virtually) the Winter Olympic Federations (WOF) on 28 May 2024 to present their projects followed by an open discussion.
- The Preferred Hosts met (virtually) the IOC Members on 26 June 2024 for an in-camera consultation and discussion.
Further Reading
Following election, the Olympic Host Contracts for 2030 and 2034 were published on olympics.com
Privileged Dialogue
At the same time it opened Targeted Dialogues with the French Alps and Utah, the IOC Executive Board opened a Privileged Dialogue with the non-edition specific project Switzerland 203x, for the Olympic Winter Games 2038. This Privileged Dialogue means that until the end of 2027, the IOC will not engage in discussions with other potential hosts for this edition and will support Switzerland to work on its vision and plans.