List of bids for the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics are a multi-sport event in winter sports organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) every four years. Selection of the host city is done at an IOC Session four to seven years prior to the tournament, in which the IOC members vote between candidate cities which have submitted bids. As of the selection of the 2018 Olympics, 23 games have been held in 20 cities in 11 countries. Bids have been made by 56 cities in 23 countries.

The bid process consists of two rounds. First, cities and national Olympic committees (NOCs) may show their interest and submit a preliminary bid, becoming applicant cities. Through analysis of the questionnaires, the IOC gave a weighted-average score to each city based on the scores obtained in each of the questionnaire's eleven themes: political and social support, general infrastructure, sports venues, Olympic Village, environment, accommodation, transport, security, past experience, finance, and legacy. IOC's Executive Committee then selects a short-list of candidate cities. The candidate cities are investigated by the IOC Evaluation Committee, who make an evaluation report. These submit a more extensive bid book and are subject to additional evaluation, which is presented to the IOC members. Voting occurs as an exhaustive ballot, which may occur through multiple rounds until a single city holds a majority of the votes. IOC members from a candidate NOC may not vote in any round while their country remains in the election.

The first games were not subject to bids and awarded to Chamonix as part of Paris' bid for the 1924 Summer Olympics. Originally the host country of the Summer Olympics had the right to host the Winter Olympics as well, if they could provide a suitable host. The 1940 Olympics were originally awarded to Sapporo, but it and the 1944 Winter Olympics were ultimately canceled due to the Second World War. The 1976 Olympics were awarded to Denver, but in a 1972 referendum, voters rejected the games, and for the only time a city awarded the Games rejected them.[1] IOC then offered them to Whistler, but a change of government meant they were no longer interested. Salt Lake City offered to host the games, but IOC finally chose Innsbruck instead. From 1994, Winter Olympics were held between Summer Olympic years. Starting with the 2004 Olympics, only the highest-rated cities are short-listed for the final IOC vote.[2]

Innsbruck, Lake Placid, and St. Moritz are the only cities to have hosted two games. Albertville, Grenoble, Nagano and Turin have never lost a bid. With six, Lake Placid has the most bids, followed by Cortina d'Ampezzo with five. Montreal and Jaca have both made four bids without any being successful. Helsinki, Minneapolis, Montreal and Munich have bid for both Summer and Winter Olympics; all but Minneapolis have succeeded at winning Summer bids, but none have held Winter Olympics. Canada and the United States have bid thirteen and twelve times respectively, with the US being awarded four and Canada two games. Other countries to host multiple games are France (3), Austria (2), Italy (2), Japan (2), Norway (2), and Switzerland (2). Sweden and Finland have bid eight and five times respectively, all unsuccessfully.[2]

By year

The following is a list of bids for the Winter Olympics, sorted by year. It consists of the year the games were held or scheduled to be held, the date the decision was made, the city and country which issued the bid, the votes at the IOC Session for each voting round, and the ultimate host of the games. The bid listed first for each games is the one selected by the IOC, whether or not it ultimately hosted the games.[2]

Year Session Bid(s) Vote Host
City Country Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6
1924 France Chamonix
1928 St. Moritz   Switzerland Switzerland St. Moritz
Davos   Switzerland
Engelberg   Switzerland
1932 4 October 1929 Lake Placid  United States United States Lake Placid
Bear Mountain  United States
Denver  United States
Duluth  United States
Lake Tahoe  United States
Minneapolis  United States
Montreal  Canada
Oslo  Norway
Yosemite Valley  United States
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen  Germany Germany Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Montreal  Canada
St. Moritz   Switzerland
1940 31 August 1936 Sapporo  Japan Japan Cancelled
1944 Cortina d'Ampezzo  Italy 16 Italy Cortina d'Ampezzo (cancelled)
Montreal  Canada 12
Oslo  Norway 2
1948 St. Moritz   Switzerland Switzerland St. Mortiz
Lake Placid  United States
1952 21 June 1947 Oslo  Norway 16 Norway Oslo
Cortina d'Ampezzo  Italy 9
Lake Placid  United States 2
1956 28 April 1949 Cortina d'Ampezzo  Italy 31 Italy Cortina d'Ampezzo
Montreal  Canada 7
Colorado Springs  United States 2
Lake Placid  United States 1
1960 16 June 1955 Squaw Valley  United States 30 32 United States Squaw Valley
Innsbruck  Austria 24 30
Garmisch-Partenkirchen  Germany 3

St. Moritz   Switzerland 3
1964 26 May 1959 Innsbruck  Austria 49 Austria Innsbruck
Calgary  Canada 9
Lahti  Finland 0
1968 28 January 1964 Grenoble  France 15 18 27 France Grenoble
Calgary  Canada 12 19 24
Lahti  Finland 11 14
Sapporo  Japan 6
Oslo  Norway 4
Lake Placid  United States 3
1972 25 April 1966 Sapporo  Japan 32 Japan Sapporo
Banff  Canada 16
Lahti  Finland 7
Salt Lake City  United States 7
1976 12 May 1970 Denver  United States 29 29 39 Austria Innsbruck
Sion   Switzerland 18 31 30
Tampere  Finland 12 8
Vancouver  Canada 9
1980 13 October 1974 Lake Placid  United States United States Lake Placid
1984 18 May 1978 Sarajevo  Yugoslavia 31 39 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sarajevo
Sapporo  Japan 33 36
Gothenburg  Sweden 10
1988 30 September 1981 Calgary  Canada 35 48 Canada Calgary
Falun  Sweden 25 31
Cortina d'Ampezzo  Italy 18
1992 16 October 1986 Albertville  France 19 26 29 42 51 France Albertville
Sofia  Bulgaria 25 25 28 24 25
Falun  Sweden 10 11 11 11 41 9
Lillehammer  Norway 10 11 9 11 40
Cortina d'Ampezzo  Italy 7 6 7
Anchorage  United States 7 5
Berchtesgaden  Germany 6
1994 15 September 1988 Lillehammer  Norway 25 30 45 Norway Lillehammer
Östersund  Sweden 19 33 39
Anchorage  United States 23 22
Sofia  Bulgaria 17
1998 15 June 1991 Nagano  Japan 21 30 36 46 Japan Nagano
Salt Lake City  United States 15 59 27 29 42
Östersund  Sweden 18 25 23
Jaca  Spain 19 5
Aosta  Italy 15 29
2002 16 June 1995 Salt Lake City  United States 54 United States Salt Lake City
Östersund  Sweden 14
Sion   Switzerland 14
Quebec City  Canada 7
Graz  Austria
Jaca  Spain
Poprad-Tatry  Slovakia
Sochi  Russia
Tarvisio  Italy
2006 19 June 1999 Turin  Italy 53 Italy Turin
Sion   Switzerland 36
Helsinki  Finland
Klagenfurt  Austria
Poprad-Tatry  Slovakia
Zakopane  Poland
2010 2 July 2003 Vancouver  Canada 40 56 Canada Vancouver
Pyeongchang  South Korea 51 53
Salzburg  Austria 16
Andorra la Vella  Andorra
Bern   Switzerland
Harbin  China
Jaca  Spain
Sarajevo  Bosnia and Herzegovina
2014 4 July 2007 Sochi  Russia 34 51 Russia Sochi
Pyeongchang  South Korea 36 47
Salzburg  Austria 25
Almaty  Kazakhstan
Borjomi  Georgia
Jaca  Spain
Sofia  Bulgaria
2018 6 July 2011 Pyeongchang  South Korea 63 South Korea Pyeongchang
Munich  Germany 25
Annecy  France 7
2022 31 July 2015 Beijing  China 44 China Beijing
Almaty  Kazakhstan 40
Oslo  Norway Withdrew
Kraków  Poland Withdrew
Lviv  Ukraine Withdrew
Stockholm  Sweden Withdrew
2026 24 June 2019 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo  Italy 47 Italy Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo
Stockholm-Åre  Sweden 34
Erzurum  Turkey Did not make the shortlist
Calgary  Canada Withdrew
Graz  Austria Withdrew
Sapporo  Japan Withdrew
Sion   Switzerland Withdrew
2030 24 July 2024 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes  France 84 Yes, 4 No, 7 Abstention (95.5% of valid votes) France French Alps
Stockholm - Åre  Sweden Did not advance to targeted dialogue phase
Switzerland   Switzerland Did not advance to 2030/2034 dialogue phase, but in dialogue for 2038 Winter Olympics
Barcelona/Zaragoza - Pyrenees  Spain Withdrew
Vancouver  Canada Withdrew
Chamonix, Valais and Aosta  France
  Switzerland
 Italy
Withdrew
Sapporo  Japan Withdrew
2034 24 July 2024 Salt Lake City  United States 83 Yes, 6 No, 6 Abstention (93.3% of valid votes) United States Salt Lake City

By city

The following is a list of bids submitted by city. It lists the national Olympic committee, the city, and the games for which failed and successful bid were submitted. A parenthesis indicates that the city was awarded the games without a bidding process. A dagger (†) indicates that the city was awarded the games, but that they were ultimately not held in the city, either because the games were canceled or moved. An asterisk (*) indicates that the bid was not shortlisted. A double asterisk (**) indicates that the bid was withdrawn.[2]

Country City Failed/Withdrawn bids Successful bids
 Andorra Andorra la Vella 2010*
 Austria Graz 2002*, 2026**
Innsbruck 1960 1964, (1976)
Klagenfurt 2006*
Salzburg 2010, 2014
 Bulgaria Sofia 1992, 1994, 2014*
 Canada Banff 1972
Calgary 1964, 1968, 2026** 1988
Montreal 1932, 1936, 1944, 1956
Quebec City 2002
Vancouver 1976, 1980, 2030 2010
 China Beijing 2022
Harbin 2010*
 Finland Helsinki 2006*
Lahti 1964, 1968, 1972
Tampere 1976
 France Albertville 1992
Annecy 2018
Chamonix 2030** (1924)
Grenoble 1968
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2030
 Georgia Borjomi 2014*
 Germany Berchtesgaden 1992
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1960 1936
Munich 2018
 Italy Aosta 1998, 2030**
Cortina d'Ampezzo 1944, 1952, 1988, 1992 1956, 2026
Milan 2026
Turin 2006
 Japan Nagano 1998
Sapporo 1968, 1984, 2026**, 2030** 1972
 Kazakhstan Almaty 2014*, 2022
 Norway Lillehammer 1992 1994
Oslo 1932, 1944, 1968, 2022** 1952
 Poland Zakopane 2006*
Kraków 2022**
 Russia Sochi 2002* 2014
 Slovakia Poprad-Tatry 2006*
 South Korea Pyeongchang 2010, 2014 2018
 Spain Jaca 1998, 2002*, 2010*, 2014*
Barcelona/Zaragoza - Pyrenees 2030**
 Sweden Falun 1988, 1992
Åre 2026, 2030
Gothenburg 1984
Östersund 1994, 1998, 2002
Stockholm 2022**, 2026, 2030
  Switzerland Bern 2010*
Davos 1928
Engelberg 1928
Sion 1976, 2002, 2006, 2026**
St. Moritz 1936, 1960 1928, 1948
Valais 2030**
 Turkey Erzurum 2026*
 Ukraine Lviv 2022**
 United States Anchorage 1992, 1994
Bear Mountain 1932
Colorado Springs 1956
Denver 1932 1976†
Duluth 1932
Lake Placid 1948, 1952, 1956, 1968 1932, 1980
Lake Tahoe 1932
Minneapolis 1932
Salt Lake City 1972, 1998 2002, 2034
Squaw Valley 1960
Yosemite Valley 1932
 Yugoslavia/ Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 2010* 1984

By country

The following is a list of bids submitted by national Olympic committee, listing the country and years it bid. Only countries that have submitted bids from multiple cities are included. Successful bids are in boldface. Parenthesis/Brackets indicates that the city was awarded the games without a bidding process. A dagger (†) indicates that the city was awarded the games, but that they were ultimately not held in the city, either because the games were canceled or moved.[2]

Country Years
 Austria 1960, 1964, (1976), 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2026
 Canada 1932, 1936, 1944, 1956, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1988, 2002, 2010, 2026, 2030
 China 2010, 2022
 Finland 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 2006
 France 1924, 1968, 1992, 2018, 2030
 Germany 1936, 1960, 1992, 2018
 Italy 1952, 1956, 1988, 1992, 1998, 2006, 2026
 Japan 1968, 1972, 1984, 1998, 2026
 Norway 1932, 1944, 1952, 1968, 1992, 1994, 2022
 Poland 2006, 2022
 Spain 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2030,
 Sweden 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2022, 2026, 2030
  Switzerland 1928, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1976, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2026, 2030
 United States 1932, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1972, 1976†, 1980, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2034

See also

References

  1. ^ Sanko, John (12 October 1999). "Colorado only state ever to turn down Olympics". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Past Olympic host city election results". GamesBids. Retrieved 15 March 2011.