As the competition in Italy wraps up, fans may be wondering when and where the next Winter Olympics will be held.
WASHINGTON — The most geographically spread-out Winter Games in history are wrapping up, and it’ll be another four years until the next Winter Olympics.
Over the past couple weeks, athletes from more than 90 countries competed on the world stage across two primary competition sites in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
As the competition wraps up Sunday, fans may be wondering when and where the next Winter Olympics will be held.
Where are the next Winter Olympics?
France is set to host the 2030 Winter Games.
The competition will return to France for the first time in 38 years, with the country hosting its most recent Winter Olympics in Albertville in 1992. It will be the fourth time the Winter Games have been held in France.
The Winter Games are scheduled for Feb. 1 to Feb. 17, 2030. The Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 1 to March 10, 2030.
Final details about the next games are yet to be determined, but the master plan for the French Alps Winter Olympics will be mapped out at four regions: Haute Savoie, Savoie, Briançon and Nice.
- Haute Savoie Zone: Cross-country skiing (La Clusaz), Biathlon (Le Grand Bornand), Olympic Village
- Savoie Zone: Alpine skiing (Courchevel, Méribel), Ski jumping (Courchevel), Nordic combined (Courchevel, Méribel), sliding sports (La Plagne), Olympic Villages (Bozel, La Plagne)
- Briançon Zone: Freestyle skiing and snowboarding (Serre Chevalier, Montgenèvre), Olympic Village (Briançon)
- Nice Zone: Ice hockey (two arenas), Figure skating and Short track speedskating, Curling, International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre and Closing Ceremony
Speedskating could be held outside France, though that is currently unconfirmed. The Opening Ceremony venues are also unknown.
Why are there Olympics every two years?
For most of the 20th century, the Winter and Summer Olympics were held in the same year, then repeated every four years.
However, things changed in 1994, when the Winter and Summer games were split and held every two years instead. The 1994 Winter Olympics were held in Lillehammer, Norway, followed by the Summer Games in 1996 in Atlanta.
The decision to break the 70-year-old tradition came after the International Olympic Committee amended the Olympic Charter to separate the games.
Since 1994, the Summer and Winter Olympics have been held every four years, respectively. The four-year period that elapses between Olympic Games is called an “Olympiad.”
Summer Games are held in the first year of the Olympiad, while the Winter Games are held in the third year of that time period.
There have been a few times that the Olympic Games were canceled or rescheduled, usually due to war or a global factor like the COVID-19 pandemic.