IOC says Lyon ready to host ice events for 2030 Games

The IOC is “ready to move ice-rink events to Lyon from Nice” for the 2030 French Alps Games, according to Graham Dunbar of the AP. Organizers appeared to “lose patience” last week with Nice Mayor Éric Ciotti due to a “key dispute over using the city’s soccer stadium for ice hockey.” The organizing committee said moving ice events north to Lyon “now appears to be the best solution.” Int’l Skating Union President Jae Youl Kim, who also represents winter sports on the IOC exec board, said, “Having the ice sports in the one city is a great idea.” He added Lyon likely is “much easier in terms of getting people to compared to Nice.” Dunbar noted the 15-member board chaired by IOC President Kirsty Coventry “must soon approve what is, by Olympic standards, a dramatic shift of hosting plan less than four years from the opening ceremony.” A “clear option” for the opening ceremony planned in Nice’s soccer stadium can “now be the larger soccer stadium in Lyon.” It hosted the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup final and multiple soccer games at the 2024 Paris Games (AP, 6/4).