Following a recommendation by the Olympic Programme Commission, the EB today proposed seven sports for the initial sports programme of the Olympic Winter Games 2030: biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating and skiing, all under the supervision of the relevant Winter International Sports Federations (IFs) listed in the Olympic Charter. The proposal will now be put forward to the 142nd IOC Session for a decision.
“All seven sports have been a part of the initial sports programme of the Olympic Winter Games since Nagano 1998 and contributed significantly to the success of Beijing 2022, the most digitally engaged edition of the Olympic Winter Games,” said IOC Member Karl Stoss, Chair of the Olympic Programme Commission, reporting to the EB.
The inclusion of a sport leaves full flexibility to review associated disciplines, events and athlete quotas. There remains an opportunity for an Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG), if it wishes, to propose additional sports. Milano Cortina 2026 was the first Winter OCOG to propose the inclusion of an additional sport – ski mountaineering – for its edition of the Games, and this was approved by the IOC Session in July 2021.
For the first time for an edition of the Olympic Winter Games, and in a similar process to that adopted for LA28, the EB also followed a recommendation by the Olympic Programme Commission to approve an intermediary step to determine the disciplines in each sport in 2025, before the event programme and athlete quota are finalised (which will be no later than 2027).
This will provide athletes, their National Olympic Committees and the IFs with extra time to prepare for the Games, and will give the OCOG earlier clarity on the final venue masterplan. The evaluation criteria for the disciplines will be finalised in Q4 2024, in collaboration with the IFs, the OCOG and the IOC.
Kit McConnell, the IOC Sports Director, said: “Efforts should remain focused on maximising positive Games impacts wherever possible and on developing a programme that remains balanced and relevant to young people, ensuring gender equality, innovation, universality and the participation of the best athletes, while reducing costs.”