2014 Winter Olympics

The 2014 Winter Olympics, formally called the XXII Winter Olympic Games, will be an international athletic event that has yet to be organized by the International Olympic Committee. The IOC under the leadership of Jacques Rogge is currently preparing to issue calls for cities to bid for the honor of hosting the event. The winner will be announced in 2007 during the 119th International Olympic Committee Session in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Host Bids

The deadline for submitting preliminary bids is July 28, 2005.

The following cities have formally announced their intentions to compete for the honor of hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics:

• Östersund, Sweden
• Pyeongchang, South Korea
• Salzburg, Austria
• Sofia, Bulgaria
• Tromsø, Norway

Östersund, along with the leading ski resort of Åre, will be making its fourth bid to the International Olympic Committee since 1994. Pyeongchang and Salzburg, which both competed for the 2010 games, will present their second bids. Sofia's bid will incorporate the ski resort of Borovets, which is undergoing a major improvement and expansion effort. Tromsø is located above the Arctic Circle and that city's bid plans to use cruise ships as the Olympic Village. Since Tromsø's ski slopes on the mountains end in the sea, it would be a unique venue.

In December 2004, the International Ski Federation issued an official report saying that Muju in South Korea does not have the ability to host an Olympic Games due to environmental and technical reasons. This leaves Pyeongchang, the country's 2010 Winter Olympics candidate, as the lone viable Korean candidate for the 2014 games. On December 22, the Korea Olympic Committee unanimously selected Pyeongchang as the Korean candidate for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Other potential bids are possible from Annecy or Grenoble in France, Erzurum in Turkey, Harbin in the People's Republic of China, Reno-Tahoe, Nevada in the United States, Jaca in Spain and Sochi in Russia.

Andorra la Vella announced in December that it would not seek to host the 2014 Olympics. The Parishes of Ordino and Escaldes-Engordany had showed interest in bidding.

There will be no bid from Switzerland as Zürich withdrew its bid on September 14, 2004. Also Munich, Germany will not bid for the 2014 games.

External Links

• Homepage of the Annecy bid
• Homepage of the Tromsø bid
• Homepage of the Pyeongchang bid
• Homepage of the Salzburg bid
• Information on current bid process