the only candidate selected by the IOC, France extends its Olympic dream

2023-11-29 17:02:39
Meeting of the executive commission of the International Olympic Committee, at the Hoche salon, in Paris, November 29, 2023. SARAH MEYSSONNIER / REUTERS

France is on the verge of achieving the double. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Wednesday November 29 that it had entered the phase of “targeted dialogue” with the promoters of the French Alps’ candidacy for the organization of the 2030 Winter Olympic Games. Better: France is the only candidacy still in the running; the files of Sweden – already rejected for 2026 – and Switzerland having been dismissed by the members of the IOC, meeting in executive commission in Paris until December 1st.

The organization’s decision was welcomed with joy and relief by the presidents of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (AURA) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) regions, as well as by the leaders of the Olympic committees (CNOSF) and Paralympic (CPSF) French.

After the organization of the Paris 2024 Games, France achieves an incredible two Olympics with the more than probable obtaining of the 2030 winter edition. The candidacy of the French Alps was not, however, the best start. The project was only revealed in July, and the file was hastily put together during the summer at the instigation of the CNOSF, after having been approved by the Elysée. The two regional executives concerned, however, were able to put their differences aside – Laurent Wauquiez and Renaud Muselier hardly like each other behind the scenes – and the PACA region also agreed to give up its project – announced at the start of 2022 – to launch itself into the Olympic adventure to optimize its chances thanks to this joint candidacy.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers France is a candidate for the organization of the 2030 Winter Olympics, which it promises to be “sober and responsible”

After receiving a warm welcome from Thomas Bach in his office in Lausanne – with the aim of “raise the stakes”, some experts joked – the French Alps officially submitted their candidacy file to the IOC on November 7. Two weeks later, MM. Muselier and Wauquiez, assisted by the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, and David Lappartient, boss of the CNOSF, defended their project, during a grand oral, in front of the members of the commission of the future host

French know-how for major events

Embarking on the 2030 bid when France is organizing the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in just eight months was a daring bet. But it was perhaps also its main asset, since the IOC has for several years been able to judge, willy-nilly, French know-how in terms of organizing major international sporting events. It proved it with Euro 2016 (occurring in a context of maximum terrorist alert) and, more recently, with the Rugby World Cup, from September 8 to October 28.

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