Bids For The 2018 Winter Olympics - Potential Cities Overview

Potential Cities Overview

These cities launched bids or indicated interest, but ultimately did not bid to the IOC.

• Almaty, Kazakhstan

Almaty bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics, but did not make the short list.

• Bukovel, Ukraine

The Ukrainian government announced in 2006 that Ukraine's popular Bukovel ski and snowboard resort was expanding in expectation of a bid.

• Bursa, Turkey

In the western Anatolia mountains, some events would be at the Uludağ National Park.

• China

Li Zhanshu, governor of Heilongjiang Province, expressed interest for Harbin, host of the 2009 Winter Universiade, or possibly Changchun. Xinhua reported neither city will bid due to a number of reasons including weak infrastructure.

• France

Gap looked at the idea of a bid, but withdrew it in September 2008. The cities of Grenoble, Nice, and Pelvoux also expressed interest to the French Olympic Committee, but were passed over for Annecy.

• Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva planned to launch a bid pending a public referendum, but the city decided to bid in 2022 instead. The Swiss Olympic Committee did not support the bid.

• Queenstown, New Zealand

A 2007 report indicated the New Zealand Olympic Committee suggested a bid for a combined Queenstown – Dunedin bid.

• Östersund, Sweden

The new government did not show the same enthusiasm of bidding as the previous one. The political change was already made during a bid by the Swedish Olympic Committee. It would have been the eighth attempt at bidding in the Winter Olympics, after many bids finished as runner ups.

• Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

After losing a bid for the 2010 games, the host of the 1984 Winter Olympics expressed interest in bidding for the 2018 games.

• Sofia, Bulgaria

Vessela Lecheva, BOC chairwoman announced plans to have at least one project for a multifunctional hall in Sofia to improve chances after three failed bids. Sofia also bid for the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics but lost to Lillehammer.

• Tromsø, Norway

Tromso beat Trondheim and the joint-bid Oslo–Lillehammer. The bid cost became contentious in Norway, National support was also low, with only 38% in favor of the bid; however bid head Petter Rønningen cited polls showing stronger support. Finally the application was withdrawn due to a lack of support.

• Upper Carniola, Slovenia

Bohinj mayor Franc Kramar proposed a bid with seven other mayors in Upper Carniola region.

• United States

Denver, Colorado (previously chosen to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, but eventually declined the games), Reno–Lake Tahoe, Nevada–California, and 2002 host Salt Lake City, Utah. expressed interest. The USOC declined to bid, focusing on the unsuccessful Chicago 2016 Olympic bid instead, and will not bid until at least the 2024 Summer Olympics.

• Zaragoza, Spain

There were initiatives to present Zaragoza. However, the mayor announced they would reserve the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, reasoning it would be unlikely for Europe to be awarded due to the unofficial continental rotation policy, giving the failure of Madrid's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics as an example.