Crans-Montana the star in 2038 Switzerland Winter Olympics bid
Crans-Montana is set to feature in the 2038 Winter Olympics as part of a wider bid by Switzerland, which is in exclusive talks with the IOC.
The Swiss resort has led recent news bulletins after a fire in a bar killed 40 people amid a litany of safety issues.
But it could become the third European host in four games after Milano Cortina this year and the French Alps in 2030 – Utah’s Salt Lake City is hosting the 2034 edition.
The municipality would host the downhill ski and snowboard events in an Olympic bid that is set to utilise venues across Switzerland.
It would be the first time the landlocked nation has hosted the Winter Olympics since the 1948 games in St. Moritz.
The 1948 bobsleigh track will undergo a refurbishment should the bid be successful, while ice hockey would span Zurich, Zug and Lugano.
Crans-Montana Olympics?
Capital city Bern will host the closing ceremony while Geneva will host curling and speed skating.
Some studies suggest that only a small number of former host cities would be able to stage a Winter Olympics by 2050, and even fewer by 2080, due to global warming.
Failed or withdrawn bids for Winter Olympics in recent years have come from Japanese city Sapporo, as well as Vancouver, Barcelona and the Pyrenees, Mount Isa in Australia and Stockholm.
Crans-Montana will host a World Cup skiing event in the coming weeks while they’re set to play host to the world championships in 2027.
There is no set deadline for the talks to conclude.
The previous Winter Olympics, in Beijing in 2022, saw Norway lead the medal table ahead of Germany, the United States and China.
Great Britain finished 19th with two medals – one gold and one silver. Both of those medals were in team curling, with the women winning gold and the men silver.