How are Olympic host cities chosen?
For the first time in Olympic history, two cities are jointly hosting the Games: Cortina d'Ampezzo, a pretty ski resort in Italy’s spectacular Dolomites, and Milan, the country’s second largest city, 410km away. This will be Cortina’s second time hosting the Winter Games, after its successful event 70 years ago in 1956. It will be the first time Milan has ever hosted the Games. But how are host cities actually chosen and who is eligible?
Initially there were six other cities in the running: Stockholm-Åre, Sweden; Calgary, Canada; Graz, Austria; Erzurum, Turkey; Sapporo, Japan; and Sion, Switzerland. In June 2019, at the 134th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Lausanne, IOC members voted to elect Milan-Cortina as the host cities for the 2026 Winter Games. The two were declared the winning bid with 47 votes and runner up Stockholm-Åre received 34 votes.
As part of its Agenda 2020 reforms in 2014, the IOC replaced its traditional system of cities tendering bids with a new approach based on targeted invitations to host the 2024 Games. Before these reforms, the bidding system was highly competitive as it involved numerous cities putting their names forward via their National Olympic Committees (NOCs).
Interested cities often incurred huge expense as they traversed through the various stages. At the end only one city was chosen and cities that were unsuccessful were discouraged from applying to host future Olympic events.
The current process is referred to as the “new norm” and has paved the way for the hosting of Games by more than one city as host. It was redefined broadly to include multiple cities, regions or countries, and reflects a shift toward a more collaborative, flexible and sustainability oriented approach.
The use of more than one city will decrease the need for expensive new facilities being built. In Cortina, the sites that hosted the 1956 Games will be repurposed for use once more as will be the facilities used in the Torino Winter Games from 2006.
Positive change
There has been a notable move from an overtly competitive system to one based on dialogue. The first step involves an informal exchange between the IOC, the NOC and the city or region. The second step is predicated on there being a positive response from the informal exchange and an interest from all involved to proceed.
This phase involves the “interested party” refining its Olympic project and it is not attached to a particular Game edition or year. The IOC offers bespoke support to the interested party and helps it develop its Games plan and vision. Central to that is the aim of maximising the benefits for local communities.
At this juncture, there is no written submission or legal or financial assurances in place. The IOC carries out a feasibility study and arranges for an independent human rights assessment by a specialist focusing on the city or region under consideration.
Once a positive feasibility study is received and assuming that the human rights evaluation has not raised any concerns, the process moves to the targeted dialogue phase with the designated “preferred hosts”.
The stage entails extensive consultation with the International Sports Federations, as well as the commissioning of independent reports assessing venue-related costs, levels of public support and potential environmental impacts.
The IOC’s executive board can put forward one or more preferred hosts for election. Preferred hosts are free to withdraw at this stage and return to the dialogue stage and interested parties are encouraged to continue to collaborate with the IOC for hosting a future Olympics. If required, the executive board holds a secret electronic ballot following a presentation by the preferred host(s). Upon election, the contract is immediately signed.
Learning from the past
The impetus for this new way of selecting hosts can be traced to the fallout from the Salt Lake City scandal, which exposed significant weaknesses in the bidding system in the late 1990s.
In November 1998, the IOC became embroiled in a scandal after it emerged that the daughter of an IOC member received a scholarship to attend a US university which was funded by the Salt Lake Organising Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics. While it may have appeared somewhat innocuous, the reporting of the scholarship was just the beginning.
What followed was something no one could have envisaged. The United States Department of Justice carried out an investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption among IOC members. Prosecutors filed criminal charges – bribery, conspiracy and fraud – against two IOC members. However, both were acquitted after the judge concluded that the case was unfounded, noting the complete absence of criminal intent. The conduct of IOC officials also reached the US Congress, as I explore in my book, Sport and the Law.
In an interesting turn of events, Salt Lake City has been successful in its bid to host the XXVII Olympic Winter Games in 2034. It secured 83 votes in favour, and six against out of 89 valid votes .
In the wake of the reputational fallout from the Salt Lake City scandal, the IOC recognised the importance of good governance. The new bidding process represents a significant streamlining compared to previous models, and the transition can largely be viewed as a constructive step. It embraces sustainability, the reduction of costs for the host (largely supported by public funding), the importance of human rights, and maximising profits for the local economy.
For Milan-Cortina, hosting the Winter Games places the two cities on the global stage. As a historic dual pairing, Milan gets to showcase its role as a hub for ice sports. Aside from hosting the snow events, Cortina also gets to revisit its Olympic legacy 70 years after staging its first Winter Games.
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Laura Donnellan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.