The 2030 French Alps Winter Olympics figure skating, hockey, short track and curling events will be held in Lyon, while the IOC Executive Board also approved speed skating to be in the Netherlands, which would make it the first Winter Games to include competition in multiple countries.
Figure skating, hockey, short track and curling were originally planned to be in Nice.
Allianz Riviera Stadium, where Nice’s Ligue 1 soccer team plays, was planned to be covered and used as a hockey venue, but French media reported in the spring that an agreement hadn’t been reached, leading organizers to consider other cities for ice sports, including Lyon and Paris, which is farther north.
Using Lyon “supports a more compact overall Games footprint and enables significant cost efficiencies, while maintaining a high-quality competition and athlete experience,” according to the IOC.
The original French Alps 2030 bid plan from 2023 did not include a speed skating venue as the country doesn’t have a speed skating arena.
Organizers proposed using Thialf — the only arena in speed skating-crazed Netherlands — that’s considered the sport’s equivalent of Wrigley Field or Fenway Park.
The IOC board approved Thialf pending completion of organizing committee discussions with venue owners.
The only other times multiple countries have hosted competition at one Olympics were in the Summer Games.
In 1956, Melbourne hosted the Olympics and had equestrian events in Stockholm due to quarantine laws in Australia. Similarly, equestrian at the 2008 Beijing Games was held in Hong Kong. In 2024, Tahiti held surfing events for the Paris Games.
Thialf, in Heerenveen, is about 500 miles north of Lyon.
Alpine skiing at the 2030 French Alps Games will be shared by Courchevel and Val d’Isère, two annual stops on the World Cup circuit.
A fully integrated venue plan, including the detailed allocation of sports and disciplines, will be announced at a later date.
