France and USA get the nod in Paris
Session 142 of the International Olympic Committee took place in Paris, just before summer competition at the 2024 Olympic Games was set to begin.
The big news, as far as we are concerned, saw confirmation of the next two Olympic Winter Games host nations.
The French Alps, which made a very late bid in recent months, was announced as the host of the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games while USA’s Salt Lake City, in Utah, got the nod as host for 2034.
This column from last November explains the French and American bids in greater detail. It also explains how Sweden, which has been trying to host a Winter Games forever has been, according to the writer, slapped in the face.
The next Winter Games are scheduled for February and March 2026, in Milan and Cortina, Italy.
Of the 95 IOC cast votes regarding Salt Lake, 83 voted for the bid and six were against, with six abstentions.
For the French Alps, 84 voted in favour with four against and seven abstentions.
Interestingly, the snap French elections in June have meant a coalition government still needs to be formed. As such, and in lieu of official government signatories, the Olympic bid’s election is conditional.
World Curling president Beau Welling is an American, and drew on personal memories in commenting on the twin hosting announcement.
“The Games allow us to bring our wonderful sport to a massive audience every four years, where many viewers experience it for the first time,” Welling said in a statement. “I first saw curling at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games and completely fell in love with the sport. So, (this) announcement feels like an exciting personal full circle.
“I know that my experience in 2002 is one that many people are going to have over the next few editions of the Games, beginning with Milano Cortina 2026 and now with the French Alps 2030 and Utah 2034. It’s an exciting time to be part of the curling family.”
Salt Lake 2002, of course, saw Great Britain’s Rhona Howie triumph over Switzerland’s Luzia Ebnoether in the women’s fours final, while Norway’s Paal Trulsen stole gold over Canada’s Kevin Martin in the men’s fours finale.
Mixed doubles would become an official Olympic discipline 16 years later in PyeongChang, Korea.
SLC curling will once again be hosted in Ogden, about a 35-minute drive north of Salt Lake City.
Olympic and Paralympic curling in the “French Alps” will actually take place in Nice, the summer vacation destination on the south coast of France.
A recent image of Nice in the winter was revealed by the IOC, showing a smattering of snow among the armada of yachts in the harbour.
