French bid to host 2030 Winter Olympics talks with Italy, Netherlands to stage speed skating
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The favored French candidacy to host the 2030 Winter Olympics is in talks with the Netherlands and Italy to stage speed skating races.
The cross-border option was detailed on Monday by International Olympic Committee officials ahead of a visit next week to proposed venues in French Alps ski resorts and Nice, the upscale French Riviera coastal city.
Nice does not have enough venues for all Olympic events on ice and the IOC now encourages hosts to avoid construction costs by finding cheaper solutions abroad.
“We have several candidates with whom the French team will discuss,” the IOC executive director of the Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi, said in an online briefing.
Dubi suggested France’s neighbors Italy — which will host the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo — and the Netherlands, a longtime power in speed skating. The Dutch team won six speed skating gold medals at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, including three for Irene Schouten.