Amid uncertainty and delays, tensions continue to rise around the organization of the 2030 Winter Olympics in France.
Uncertainty surrounds the events in Nice, governance is scrutinized, and delays persist: the organizers of the 2030 Winter Olympics, who are meeting on Monday, are under pressure just two months before the scheduled date to finalize the map of Olympic and Paralympic sites.
Tensions escalated on Friday with the “deadlock situation” caused by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in its negotiations with the new UDR-RN mayor of Nice. Elected in March, Éric Ciotti opposes the installation of ice hockey events in the Allianz Arena football stadium, as planned by the Alpes 2030 project, and has made it “an absolute red line.”
Meanwhile, the UDR-RN leader criticizes the “improvisation, amateurism, and politicization” of the situation, while Renaud Muselier, the region’s president, denounces a position that “could lead to a reconsideration” of the Nice hub, calling for a “political decision” at Monday’s long-planned meeting of the stakeholders in the 2030 Olympics. The Bay of Angels is supposed to host the highly lucrative ice hub (hockey, figure skating, curling, short-track) and generate about 60% of the ticket revenue for the Games, including the closing ceremony.
The option of relocating some competitions to Lyon could resurface, as the city’s Green mayor Gregory Doucet proposed in early April to host ice sports – while snow events are expected to take place in Savoie, Haute-Savoie, and Briançon.
The showdown in Nice adds to the stack of pending issues for stakeholders, who are already facing a serious governance crisis within the organizing committee (Cojop) led by former mogul champion Edgar Grospiron.
On Monday, government representatives, Olympic and Paralympic committees, as well as the host regions Paca and Aura, will review the findings of an inspection mission on the management and functioning of Cojop, following a series of departures, including that of general director Cyril Linette in late February.
The meeting will “highlight a number of weaknesses, especially in terms of organizational structure, governance, and human resource management, which are inherently linked to a still recent phase of ramping up,” said Sports Minister Marina Ferrari in a statement to AFP.
The composition of the new Cojop number two is not expected to be revealed on Monday, although Jean-François Vilotte, director general of the French Football Federation (FFF), is rumored. However, the appointment of an interim number two has been entrusted to Michel Cadot, a former interministerial delegate for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“We must now move to a new phase. We have gone through the phase of infancy and childhood; we must now adopt the mindset of organizers on a par with Paris 2024. There is no room for doubts or egos,” said Briançon mayor Arnaud Murgia, who is set to host one of the Olympic villages in 2030.
With time running out, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) must approve the final site map for the 2030 events during its session on June 22-23, which still has several uncertainties: choice of additional sports, allocation of alpine skiing events between Courchevel and Val d’Isère, and the location of the long track speed skating rink in Italy or the Netherlands, as France does not have such a facility.
Before the Nice hurdle, Edgar Grospiron admitted to being “four months behind in finalizing the site map” in front of the Senate. Another deadline in June is the validation by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) of the competition site(s) for the Paralympic events, a matter on which Cojop has provided little communication.
