France’s plans for the 2030 Winter Olympics “may be changing to include events held in other European countries,” according to Lisa Riley Roche of the DESERET NEWS. A post on a French language website that follows the Olympics and international sport -- FrancsJeux.com -- had a headline last week that translated to “Speed skating ‘too expensive’ to take place in France.” It was based on an interview Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region President Renaud Muselier gave French daily newspaper Le Figaro earlier in the week, where he “made it clear the 2030 Winter Games speedskating events won’t be held in France.” Muselier said that it is the “organizers who want to hold events in another country,” even though the IOC previously “raised the possibility of moving speedskating to the Netherlands or Italy.” Nice is set to host ice sports, but IOC Olympic Games Exec Dir Christophe Dubi said a year ago that there were a “number of different options for long-track speedskating, which requires a 400-meter oval track.” Dubi had “suggested a temporary track could be built in Nice.” That is what is being done for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina (DESERET NEWS, 4/4).
France to possibly explore other sites to host 2030 Winter Games events
