A hundred elected officials from the Hautes-Alpes have shown their support for France’s bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics.
With the Paris 2024 Olympics on the horizon, France is already thinking about what’s next, and it could happen in the PACA region. Since the start of last year, Renaud Muselier has made this his pet project. Initially competing with Auvergne Rhône Alpes, the two regions eventually decided to join forces. Last May, Guy Drut already supported this idea of an alliance in Le Figaro: “If the request is made only by the Southern Alps, it won’t work. We need a bid that includes both the Southern Alps and the Northern Alps. If we succeed, we have a small chance of getting it.”
A delegation recently traveled to Lausanne to meet with the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach. “We were able to present our vision to President Bach,” said David Lappartient (CNOSF) in L’Equipe. “He felt our determination to champion this bid with the backing of the State and the President of the Republic, who gave us his consent. He saw that we were playing collectively and that our guarantees of success are present.”
A Boost for the Region
Beyond the sports aspect, the 123 signatories believe the event represents “a real opportunity to change the fate of our communities and our living areas. The Games are an opportunity to breathe new life into our infrastructures, our planning, our tourist and permanent accommodations, and our accessibility.”
A significant backing for the president of the Sud Region, Renaud Muselier, whose Olympic project took a turn this summer. Originally targeted for 2034 or 2038, the official’s Olympic ambition unexpectedly accelerated. However, according to David Lappartient, things are far from set in stone. “What one can see on their site is that they are bidding for 2030, 2034, and 2038. They haven’t fixed on a particular year while we have targeted 2030.”
Nothing is well-defined yet, as the geographical framework for organizing the events still needs to be specified by mid-October. All this in preparation for an audition before the IOC’s Future Host Commission in November.
Fierce Competition
Even though many competitors seem to be stepping back, like Japan and the United States (Salt Lake City is shifting its focus to 2034), the path is not yet clear. The first significant opponent is Sweden. An unsuccessful candidate against Milan-Cortina for the 2026 Olympics, the Swedes appear determined to succeed in 2030. Thanks to its experience, the leading Nordic ski nation might even have a head start with a bid focused on Stockholm and Åre. Another contender, Switzerland, has a project covering its entire territory but is not very developed.
Stay tuned for early November for more clarity. The IOC is expected to make its decision in 2024.
