2014 Winter Olympics

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This article or section contains information about a sporting event.
It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available.

The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games, will be celebrated in 2014, and is an international winter sports athletic event that has yet to be organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC under the leadership of Jacques Rogge has received the applications of seven cities to bid for the honor of hosting the event. On June 22, 2006, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee met to narrow the field to three candidate cities. The elected host city will be announced on July 7, 2007 during the 119th International Olympic Committee Session in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

At the time of the 2006 Winter Olympics, Salzburg was considered by the specialists or observers, such as GamesBids or Around the Rings as the favourite, with PyeongChang and Sochi being the other two strongest contenders. In March 2006, Jacques Rogge indicated during an interview to a Spanish newspaper that Salzburg and PyeongChang will be among the candidate cities selected by the IOC.

Contents

1 Candidate cities
2 Out of the race

2.1 Non selected applicant cities
2.2 Non finalised applicant cities

3 Additional sports
4 External links

4.1 Mini bid books
4.2 IOC evaluation report of the applicant cities

5 See also

Candidate cities

The following three candidate cities have been approved by their National Olympic Committees - [link]. They all sent their respective questionnaire answers by February 1, 2006. These documents have been made public in the following days. They were selected by the International Olympic Committee on June 22, 2006.

2014 Candidate Cities
Logo Name Country (IOC Country Code) Official
web site
Sochi (RUS) [Sochi 2014]
The Russian Black Sea resort will bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The ski resort in Krasnaya Polyana district, which is being designed by the same company working on ski slopes for the 2010 Winter Olympics, will open in 2007 and would be the primary venue for outdoor sports while Sochi would host indoor winter sports. The high number of hotel rooms, and strong public and political support from the city and its twin city Cheltenham, England, are expected to strengthen the bid's chances. Sochi may be one of the first subtropical cities to vie for the Winter Olympic games.
Salzburg (AUT) [Salzburg 2014]
Despite its excellent technical bid, the Austrian town was eliminated in the first round in voting during the 2010 competition. The 2014 bid is more compact than the 2010 project due to the elimination of the Kitzbühel, St. Johann and Ramsau venues.
One venue (Schönau am Königssee for bob, skeleton and luge) is located in Germany.
PyeongChang (KOR) [PyeongChang 2014]
PyeongChang was unanimously selected over Muju by the [Korean Olympic Committee] in December 2004, and was the first city to submit its bid to the International Olympic Committee. The bid has launched a full-scale campaign in an effort to secure a Winter Olympics, which eluded them by a mere three votes in the 2010 Olympic race, in which the Games were awarded to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 2014 project concentrates all venues within one hour of PyeongChang, calls for huge sums of investment into new infrastructure and sporting venues, including the new Alpensia Resort; moreover, the sporting event would promote a message of peace and harmony in the divided country. Since 2003, the region has landed the 2009 Snowboard World Championships and the 2009 Biathlon World Championships in an aim at becoming the winter sports hub of Asia. Recently, the World Curling Federation [link] gave nearby city of Gangneung (pop. 250,000; mere 20 minutes away from PyeongChang) the 2009 World Women's Curling Championship.

**2014 Candidate Cities**
Logo	Name	Country (IOC Country Code)	Official web site
	Sochi	(RUS)	[Sochi 2014]
The Russian Black Sea resort will bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The ski resort in Krasnaya Polyana district, which is being designed by the same company working on ski slopes for the 2010 Winter Olympics, will open in 2007 and would be the primary venue for outdoor sports while Sochi would host indoor winter sports. The high number of hotel rooms, and strong public and political support from the city and its twin city Cheltenham, England, are expected to strengthen the bid's chances. Sochi may be one of the first subtropical cities to vie for the Winter Olympic games.
	Salzburg	(AUT)	[Salzburg 2014]
Despite its excellent technical bid, the Austrian town was eliminated in the first round in voting during the 2010 competition. The 2014 bid is more compact than the 2010 project due to the elimination of the Kitzbühel, St. Johann and Ramsau venues. One venue (Schönau am Königssee for bob, skeleton and luge) is located in Germany.
	PyeongChang	(KOR)	[PyeongChang 2014]
PyeongChang was unanimously selected over Muju by the [Korean Olympic Committee] in December 2004, and was the first city to submit its bid to the International Olympic Committee. The bid has launched a full-scale campaign in an effort to secure a Winter Olympics, which eluded them by a mere three votes in the 2010 Olympic race, in which the Games were awarded to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 2014 project concentrates all venues within one hour of PyeongChang, calls for huge sums of investment into new infrastructure and sporting venues, including the new Alpensia Resort; moreover, the sporting event would promote a message of peace and harmony in the divided country. Since 2003, the region has landed the 2009 Snowboard World Championships and the 2009 Biathlon World Championships in an aim at becoming the winter sports hub of Asia. Recently, the World Curling Federation [link] gave nearby city of Gangneung (pop. 250,000; mere 20 minutes away from PyeongChang) the 2009 World Women's Curling Championship.

Note: the cities are listed in the presentation order defined by the IOC during its Executive Board of October 26, 2005.

Out of the race

Non selected applicant cities

The following applicant cities have been approved by their National Olympic Committees - [link]. They all sent their respective questionnaire answers by February 1, 2006. These documents have been made public in the following days.

2014 non selected Applicant Cities
Logo Name Country (IOC Country Code) Official
web site
Jaca (ESP) [Jaca 2014]
Jaca has failed four times in bidding for the Winter Olympics - for the 1998, 2002, 2010, and 2014 Olympics. It has previously hosted the 1981 and 1995 Winter Universiades. Skiing events were proposed to take place at ski resorts of the Pyrenees : Candanchu, Formigal, Astun and Panticosa. Most of the ice events, as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies (at La Romareda Stadium), were to take place 142 kilometers south of Jaca in Zaragoza. Preliminary ice hockey competitions were to take place in Jaca and Huesca. Jaca did bid for 2002 but missed the short list which was limited to Östersund (Sweden), Quebec City (Canada), Sion (Switzerland) and Salt Lake City from the US, the eventual host.
The fact that the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were not scheduled to take place in Jaca is in contradiction with article 35.1 of the Olympic Charter.
Almaty (KAZ) [Almaty 2014]
Almaty, the former Soviet republic's largest city, submitted its official bid for the 2014 Olympics to the International Olympic Committee. The city had already planned to host the 2011 Winter Asian Games. The [National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan] cited that the city would have used existing indoor sports facilities and the Chimbulak Mountain ski slopes. The bid was quite compact with all the ice events in downtown Almaty and the alpine events in nearby Kumbel. The farthest events would have been in the Soldatskoe Valley venue, only 45 km away from the center of Almaty and the Olympic Village. The historic Medeo ice rink would have been the speed skating venue and would have been covered for the Games. It bears to mention that based on the scores released by the Executive Committee report, Almaty placed fourth overall, and would have been eligible for the shortlist as it had cleared the benchmark for some categories. However, IOC president Jacques Rogge commented that in the process of shortlisting in order to determine an Olympic Host City, what matters was 'not quantity, but the quality' of the overall bids. Although Almaty presented a good bid, it was implied that it was not as feasibly up-to-par as the three that were selected to enter the shortlist.
Sofia (BUL) [Sofia 2014]
Sofia submitted its application in the city's third attempt to land the Winter Games, after losing the 1992 and 1994 nominations to Albertville and Lillehammer, respectively. The proposed Olympics was based on three main centers: Sofia itself, Borovets and Bansko. Sofia would have hosted the ice events and bobsleigh and luge events in nearby Vitosha natural park. The ambitious multi-million euro Super Borovets (70 km away) expansion project was a further signal of Bulgaria's continual investment into infrastructure and would have hosted cross country skiing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding events. Near Sofia is located also the fast developing Bansko resort (159 km). Bansko, the site of the 2007 European biathlon championship, would have hosted the biathlon and alpine skiing events. The city's bid also seemed to had gained significant political support within the country and thus sent in its application early on April 17, 2004.
Borjomi (GEO) [Borjomi 2014]
Despite the lack of sports infrastructure, Georgia reportedly had the money and the will to host the Winter Olympics. The Games were proposed to be held in two locations: Borjomi and Tbilisi, which are about 200 km apart.
Borjomi was the proposed venue for the outdoor sports disciplines (Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross Country Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Luge, Nordic Combined, Skeleton, Ski Jumping and Snowboard), while Tbilisi was expected to host the indoor sports disciplines (Curling, Figure Skating, Ice-Hockey, Short Track Speed Skating and Speed Skating). The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were expected to take place in the natural amphitheatre in the centre of Bakuriani, a suburb of Borjomi. Bakuriani would also have been the venue for the cross country and freestyle skiing.

**2014 non selected Applicant Cities**
Logo	Name	Country (IOC Country Code)	Official web site
	Jaca	(ESP)	[Jaca 2014]
Jaca has failed four times in bidding for the Winter Olympics - for the 1998, 2002, 2010, and 2014 Olympics. It has previously hosted the 1981 and 1995 Winter Universiades. Skiing events were proposed to take place at ski resorts of the Pyrenees : Candanchu, Formigal, Astun and Panticosa. Most of the ice events, as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies (at La Romareda Stadium), were to take place 142 kilometers south of Jaca in Zaragoza. Preliminary ice hockey competitions were to take place in Jaca and Huesca. Jaca did bid for 2002 but missed the short list which was limited to Östersund (Sweden), Quebec City (Canada), Sion (Switzerland) and Salt Lake City from the US, the eventual host. The fact that the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were not scheduled to take place in Jaca is in contradiction with article 35.1 of the Olympic Charter.
	Almaty	(KAZ)	[Almaty 2014]
Almaty, the former Soviet republic's largest city, submitted its official bid for the 2014 Olympics to the International Olympic Committee. The city had already planned to host the 2011 Winter Asian Games. The [National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan] cited that the city would have used existing indoor sports facilities and the Chimbulak Mountain ski slopes. The bid was quite compact with all the ice events in downtown Almaty and the alpine events in nearby Kumbel. The farthest events would have been in the Soldatskoe Valley venue, only 45 km away from the center of Almaty and the Olympic Village. The historic Medeo ice rink would have been the speed skating venue and would have been covered for the Games. It bears to mention that based on the scores released by the Executive Committee report, Almaty placed fourth overall, and would have been eligible for the shortlist as it had cleared the benchmark for some categories. However, IOC president Jacques Rogge commented that in the process of shortlisting in order to determine an Olympic Host City, what matters was 'not quantity, but the quality' of the overall bids. Although Almaty presented a good bid, it was implied that it was not as feasibly up-to-par as the three that were selected to enter the shortlist.
	Sofia	(BUL)	[Sofia 2014]
Sofia submitted its application in the city's third attempt to land the Winter Games, after losing the 1992 and 1994 nominations to Albertville and Lillehammer, respectively. The proposed Olympics was based on three main centers: Sofia itself, Borovets and Bansko. Sofia would have hosted the ice events and bobsleigh and luge events in nearby Vitosha natural park. The ambitious multi-million euro Super Borovets (70 km away) expansion project was a further signal of Bulgaria's continual investment into infrastructure and would have hosted cross country skiing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding events. Near Sofia is located also the fast developing Bansko resort (159 km). Bansko, the site of the 2007 European biathlon championship, would have hosted the biathlon and alpine skiing events. The city's bid also seemed to had gained significant political support within the country and thus sent in its application early on April 17, 2004.
	Borjomi	(GEO)	[Borjomi 2014]
Despite the lack of sports infrastructure, Georgia reportedly had the money and the will to host the Winter Olympics. The Games were proposed to be held in two locations: Borjomi and Tbilisi, which are about 200 km apart. Borjomi was the proposed venue for the outdoor sports disciplines (Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross Country Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Luge, Nordic Combined, Skeleton, Ski Jumping and Snowboard), while Tbilisi was expected to host the indoor sports disciplines (Curling, Figure Skating, Ice-Hockey, Short Track Speed Skating and Speed Skating). The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were expected to take place in the natural amphitheatre in the centre of Bakuriani, a suburb of Borjomi. Bakuriani would also have been the venue for the cross country and freestyle skiing.

Note: the cities are listed in the presentation order defined by the IOC during its Executive Board of October 26, 2005.

Non finalised applicant cities

The following cities withdrew their 2014 Winter Olympic bids or decided not to bid.

Andorra la Vella, Andorra - No backing by the Andorran Olympic Committee for 2014 bid, but now considering bidding for 2022 Winter Olympics.
Annecy, France - No backing by the French Olympic Committee after Paris lost its 2012 bid, but now considering bidding for 2018.
Erzurum, Turkey - The National Olympic Committee of Turkey cited a lack of infrastructure
Harbin, People's Republic of China - Investment has been poured into the 2009 Winter Universiade
Munich, Germany - National Olympic Committee for Germany cited lack of detail and planning
Östersund, Sweden - Lack of Swedish political support
Reno and Lake Tahoe, United States of America - No backing by the United States Olympic Committee
Shimla, India - Lack of Indian Government support
Tromsø, Norway - The Norwegian government did not guarantee money to the bid
Zürich, Switzerland - Withdrew their bid on September 14, 2004

Additional sports

After the city is selected to host the Olympics, the IOC will also decide on whether to allow additional sports into the Olympic program. The sports include:

Orienteering [link]
Ski mountaineering [link]

Olympic Games Sports Medalists NOCs Symbols		Summer Olympic Games>Summer Games 1896, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, (1916), 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024
		Winter Olympic Games>Winter Games 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022
		Athens 2004 — Torino 2006 — *Beijing 2008* — *Vancouver 2010* — *London 2012*

2014 Winter Olympics

Candidate cities

Out of the race

Non selected applicant cities

Non finalised applicant cities

Additional sports

External links

Mini bid books

IOC evaluation report of the applicant cities

See also