Bids for the 2022 Winter Olympics

Bidding timeline

On 3 October 2012, the IOC announced in a letter to the NOCs the bidding calendar for the 2022 Winter Olympics:

3 October 2012 – First information circular letter to NOCs

6 June 2013 – IOC officially invites bid applicants from NOCs and publishes the 2022 Applicant City Questionnaire

14 November 2013 – Deadline for NOCs to submit the name of an applicant city

4–6 December 2013 – Applicant city seminar at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland

7–23 February 2014 – Olympic Winter Games Observer Programme

14 March 2014 – Submission of the application file

7 July 2014 – Selection of candidate cities by the IOC Executive Board

7 January 2015 – Submission of candidature files and guarantees

14–18 February 2015 in Almaty – IOC Evaluation Commission visits

24–28 March 2015 in Beijing – IOC Evaluation Commission visits

1–2 June 2015 – Evaluation Commission report

9–10 June 2015 – Candidate City briefing to IOC members

31 July 2015 – Host city election at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Candidate cities

On 15 November 2013, the IOC announced the list of the six applicant cities. On 7 July 2014, the IOC announced the three (at the time) remaining applicant cities would move on to the candidate phase.

On 1 October 2014, Oslo withdrew its application after one of the country's governing political parties Høyre decided not to support the application. The remaining two candidate cities are, in the order defined by the IOC:

Withdrawn candidate cities

Oslo, Norway

On 6 November 2013, the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports announced that Oslo would be submitted as the Norwegian candidate for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Oslo last hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics, and Norway last hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. On 1 October 2014 the Conservative Party decided that they would not support a bid for the games citing costs and lack of public support. A vast number of polls were conducted, and since April 2014 support had varied between 24% and 37%. The days leading up to the deliberation in the Conservative Party had consisted of a series of negative developments for the bid. Those negative developments included the Centre Party saying no through a grass root vote, a poll showing that even within the Norwegian Confederation of Sports the majority of members opposed the bid, an external revision which clarified that the newly suggested cheaper budget was unrealistic and public scrutiny on IOC´s 7000 pages of demands.

Cancelled bids

Kraków, Poland

On 7 November 2013, the Polish Olympic Committee announced they submitted a bid to the IOC for the 2022 Winter Olympics, together with Zakopane, Poland, and Jasná, a village in central Slovakia, near the Polish border. If the bid had been successful, it would have been the first time either Poland or Slovakia hosted the Olympics. Zakopane previously bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics but failed to become a candidate. Kraków's bid was submitted to a local referendum held on 25 May 2014, which had a negative result. After that Kraków discontinued the application on 26 May 2014.

Lviv, Ukraine

The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine officially submitted a bid for Lviv to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games on 5 November 2013. On 30 June 2014, however, the IOC announced that Lviv would "turn its attention to an Olympic bid for 2026, and not continue with its application for 2022. The decision comes as a result of the 2013–15 Ukrainian crisis" which seriously influences Lviv and the country.

Stockholm, Sweden

On 11 November 2013, the Swedish Olympic Committee announced that it had submitted a bid, but on 17 January 2014, Stockholm dropped the bid due to lack of political support. Åre, about 610 km (380 mi) from Stockholm, was scheduled to host the alpine skiing events. Stockholm previously hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics and hosted equestrian events of the 1956 Summer Olympics, but this was the first time the Swedish capital was bidding for the Winter Olympics. Also, it would have been the first city to host both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics, but that honor went to Beijing.

Candidate cities venues list

Note that the selected candidate cities have slightly changed venues plan in the final proposal to the IOC. Almaty moved technical alpine skiing events from Shymbulak to Tau, and completely removed both Kok Zhaylau and Ak-Bulak ski resorts, previously proposed for snowboarding and freestyle skiing events. Beijing dropped both Taiwu and Wanlong ski resorts, and proposed hosting snowboarding and freestyle skiing events in the two venues (A and B) in Genting Snow Park.

Candidate cities comparison

All data come from applicant cities bid books. candidate cities public support data has been updated.

Evaluation of the applicant cities

Each cell of the table provides a minimum and a maximum figure obtained by the applicant city on the specific criteria. These figures are to be compared to a benchmark which has been set at 6.

Previously interested in bidding

Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino Euroregion, Austria/Italy

The former parts of the County of Tyrol, Tyrol in Austria, South Tyrol and Trentino in Italy were considering a joint bid as the Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino for the 2022 Olympics. The capital of Tyrol, Innsbruck, has already hosted Olympic Winter Games twice, in 1964 and 1976 as well as the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics. However, the common legislative assembly of Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino rejected the proposal during its session on 30 March 2011.

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

After the announcement that Sarajevo would host the 2017 European Youth Winter Olympic Festival, Fahrudin Radončić, President of the Union for a Better Future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a political party, said that Bosnia and Herzegovina would apply to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, which hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics when it was part of Yugoslavia.

Quebec City, Canada

Quebec City initially expressed interest in bidding. In September 2011, Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume ruled out bidding for 2022. However, the city may bid for another Winter Games in the future. Former IOC President Jacques Rogge stated that he believes that the 2026 Winter Olympics would be a realistic option for the city to organize the games. Quebec has a problem finding a mountain for the downhill event, as the planned location Le Massif was not approved.

Santiago, Chile

After an interview with then International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge during the 2012 Olympic Games in London discussions were started about how to organize Winter Olympics in the southern hemisphere for the first time. During the interview conditions in the Andes were highlighted as very suitable to stage snow sports events but a lack of existing venues for the ice sport events was identified as well.

Nice, France

After Nice's failure to secure the French nomination for the 2018 Winter Olympics, mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi announced in 2011, and again during the 2012 Summer Games, that his city remained interested in bidding. The French Olympic Committee will make a decision after they get an autumn report about the failure of previous Olympic bids by France, but the president of the Committee also said that the probability of bidding for 2022 is weak.

Tahko, Kuopio, and Helsinki, Finland

During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Jouko Purontakanen, the Secretary General of the Finland Olympic Committee, said Finland could host the games alone in Tahko, Kuopio, and Helsinki, if the project for artificial heightening of the Tahko hill progresses. Stefan Wallin, Finland's Minister for Culture and Sports, has also suggested that Finland should bid for the 2022 games with other Nordic countries after Finland's NOC discusses with them in Vancouver. Nothing followed from these suggestions: the heightening of Tahko hill did not progress since 2010 due to environmental concerns, and no Nordic countries indicated an interest to bid with Finland since the discussions in Vancouver.

Munich, Germany

Following Munich's failed bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, plans for a second attempt were made. On 30 September 2013, Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (the German National Olympic Committee) announced its intention to submit a bid for Munich to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. However, these plans were cancelled on 10 November 2013 when a majority of residents in the Munich area opposed the bid in referendums held in Munich, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Bavarian districts of Berchtesgadener Land and Traunstein (where the competitions would have taken place). In each locality, a majority had voted against bidding: 51.2% in Munich, 51.6% in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 54.0% in Berchtesgadener Land, and 59.7% in Traunstein. Opponents pointed to the high costs for hosting the Olympics, environmental issues, and criticism of commercialization of sports, particularly the IOC.In order to address concerns voiced about the 2018 bid, the 2022 Games would have been located at four different places. Only Alpine Skiing and Ski Jumping competitions would have been held at Garmisch-Partenkirchen (the host city of the 1936 Winter Olympics), whilst Nordic Skiing and Biathlon events would have taken place at existing facilities at Ruhpolding, thus minimizing the land use. The Königssee bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track would have become another important venue. Indoor ice skating events and ski/snowboard half-pipe competitions would have been held at the Olympiapark in Munich, the main site of the 1972 Summer Olympics; and the Olympic Stadium would have been used for the opening and closing ceremonies.

Queenstown—Christchurch, New Zealand

Queenstown, New Zealand's main winter sports centre, has toyed with the idea of bidding for hosting rights of the Winter Olympics in the past, notably a 2007 report suggesting a bid (co-hosting with Dunedin) for the 2018 games. A proposal to bring the games to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time in 2022, to be jointly held in Queenstown and Christchurch, has been mooted by a private group, but does not have general support among the country's Olympians and is seen as unlikely to proceed.

Brașov and Prahova Valley, Romania

The mayor of Brașov, George Scripcaru, said in September 2011 that his city would be interested to bid if the 2013 European Youth Winter Olympic Festival is a success. In 2007, former Romanian Prime Minister Călin Popescu Tăriceanu announced that the country was considering a bid for the Prahova Valley. Instead of bidding for 2022, Brașov's mayor, George Scripcaru, announced in November 2013 that Brașov will be bidding to host the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona, which hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics, considered a bid for the 2022 Olympics, but on 25 October 2013, mayor Xavier Trias announced that "the conditions" would not exist yet. Instead, one "must concentrate to reach the Olympic target by 2026". On 13 January 2010, then mayor of Barcelona Jordi Hereu had first announced plans to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. The proposed "two cluster system" would have seen the Games being shared with La Molina, a ski resort in the Pyrenees. Indoor sports (as well as the opening, closing and medal ceremonies) would have taken place in Barcelona. On 17 June 2015, mayor Ada Colau announced Barcelona would not be bidding for the 2026 either, stating it is not a priority project for the city.

Zaragoza, Spain

The Zaragoza-Pyrenees 2022 bid was withdrawn on 7 November 2011 and left Barcelona as sole candidate from Spain to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Officials insisted that Barcelona never regarded Zaragoza as "a rival, but rather the opposite. Both of us championed the Pyrenees brand in our projects and that's why I believe Aragon will also benefit if Barcelona goes ahead with this bid, because it will have a positive effect on the whole Pyrenees".

Östersund, Sweden

Ostersund was interested in a potential 2022 bid, but the Swedish Olympic Committee decided not to move forward with bidding due to a lack of financial guarantees from the government. The SOC chairman said that future applications were unlikely because of the government policy. However Sweden has applied with Stockholm as main city, with more arenas and hotels already available, therefore lower cost. Östersund previously bid for the 1994, 1998, and 2002 Winter Olympics but lost to Lillehammer, Nagano, and Salt Lake City respectively.

Graubünden (St. Moritz/Davos), Switzerland

The intention to bid was approved in November 2010. On 24 January 2011, the Swiss Olympic Association, announced that five areas across Switzerland had shown interest in bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympics: Geneva, Valais, Graubünden, Lucerne/Central Switzerland and Bern. After a withdrawal from Central Switzerland, the Swiss Olympic Association received four bids by 31 March 2011 deadline. The executive committee of the Swiss Olympic Association decided on 11 August 2011 to put forward a bid of the St.Moritz/Davos-area to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. St. Moritz hosted the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948.St. Moritz/Davos presented a project that will host all events in the surrounding area of Davos and St. Moritz; generally speaking, "ice events" in Davos and "snow events" in St. Moritz. However, Davos has a hosting tradition in Cross-country skiing and Snowboarding, and so one would expect Davos venues for those competitions. After the decision on 11 August 2011 a feasibility study for the Games was announced including the possibility to extend ice events to Zürich. The organizers decided during a session on 22 December 2011 to go forward with "St. Moritz 2022" as the official corporate name of the bid. However at a plebiscite in Graubünden about the bid on 3 March 2013, the public voted with 41'758 to 37'540 votes (52.66% to 47.43%) against a credit for the 2022 Olympic Games, meaning that the bid will have to be dropped.

Multiple cities, United States

Multiple cities in the United States—such as Bozeman, Montana; Denver, Colorado; Reno, Nevada; and Salt Lake City, Utah—expressed interest in bidding for the 2022 Games, but the U.S. Olympic Committee is opting to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics or the 2026 Winter Olympics.