Sapporo Pulls Back from Bid for 2030 Winter Olympics

22nd December 2022

Last modified on December 27th, 2022

The Japanese city and the country’s Olympic Committee has announced it is putting its attempt to win the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games on hold. The decision is partly in response to the damage caused by the Tokyo 2020 corruption scandal.

If they choose to withdraw, Salt Lake City in Utah could be be the sole potential bidder for the next but one Winter Games.

Salt Lake City has, however, said it would prefer to go for the 2034 Games.

Vancouver in Canada is still officially a candidate for 2030 but the British Columbia government is not supporting its bid.

Japanese news websites report the Mayor of Sapporo Katsuhiro Akimoto saying at a news conference that the city’s bid has not been abandoned entirely, just put on hold.

It may now conduct a national survey to determine whether there is public support for a bid.

The decision is in response to two factors.

One is the scandal over bid-rigging for the Tokyo Summer Olympics which has been the subject of a recent investigation. It is believed to have damaged the prospects of Sapporo being awarded the 2030 Winter Games.

The second is the announcement earlier this month by the International Olympic Committee that it was delaying awarding the 2030 Games until beyond next summer.