2030 Winter Olympics: French Alps Set to Host — Everything You Need to Know

As the Milano Cortina 2026 closing ceremony unfolds tonight in Verona, the Olympic torch is symbolically being passed to France. The Olympic Closing Ceremony on Sunday (February 22) will mark the official handover between hosts of the Olympic Winter Games, combining formal protocol with an exciting preview of what awaits in four years' time. The 2030 Winter Olympics are four years away — and preparations are already well underway.

French Alps 2030: Official Name, Dates, and Host

The 2030 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXVI Olympic Winter Games and branded as French Alps 2030, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from February 1 to 17, 2030 in the French Alps region of France.

The competition will return to France for the first time in 38 years, with the country hosting the last Winter Games in Albertville in 1992. It will be the fourth time the Winter Olympic Games have been held in France. France previously hosted in Chamonix 1924, Grenoble 1968, and Albertville 1992.

Where Will the 2030 Winter Olympics Take Place?

Unlike traditional single-city games, the 2030 Olympics will mark the second consecutive Winter Olympics in which the IOC has shifted from a single host city to a more regional model, spreading competition venues across the southwest region of France using mostly preexisting venues, including sites from the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics.

There are four main competition zones:

The Nice zone will host indoor ice events such as hockey, figure skating, short track, speed skating and curling. For ice hockey, Allianz Riviera — which hosted Olympic soccer events during Paris 2024 — will be transformed into two ice rinks for the Games. The Savoie zone, considered the heart of the Alps, will host Alpine skiing, ski jumping, bobsled, luge and skeleton.

Competition sites will be spread across four main areas: Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Briançon, and Nice. Well-known winter sports destinations include Annecy-Le Grand Bornand for biathlon and La Plagne for sliding sports such as bobsleigh and luge.

There will be five Olympic Villages: Saint-Jean-de-Sixt, Bozel, La Plagne, Briançon, and Nice. One notable international partner is also involved: Turin's Oval Lingotto — the same speed skating venue used during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games — will host speed skating events to avoid building a new facility in France.

Venues, Sports, and the Sustainability Vision

Approximately 93 percent of venues are expected to already exist or be temporary structures. The final event program will be confirmed in June 2026, but seven core sports are expected to be included: biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating, and skiing — all of which have appeared at every Winter Olympics since Nagano 1998.

New and potential additions being explored include: cyclo-cross, cross-country running, ski mountaineering, speed skiing, telemark skiing, ice cross, and ice climbing, which has drawn interest from French athletes.

Environmental responsibility sits at the center of the French Alps 2030 vision. Organizing committee president Edgar Grospiron said: "Our mountains must reinvent themselves to meet the challenges of our time — to support, anticipate and respond to transitions, climate change and sporting evolution, but also to other aspirations of new generations."

Handover Happening Right Now — Tonight in Verona

The handover ceremony is a first chapter of French Alps 2030 history. Brand director Mathieu Sakkas described the message they want to send: "It's obviously a positive, elegant, minimalist message. A thank you to our Italian neighbours who have also staged the Games in the Alps and who have worked hard to bring the Winter Games back to Europe."

Instead of being released during the handover segment of the 2026 closing ceremony, the Games' emblem will be unveiled in the spring of 2026.

What Comes After 2030?

The Winter Olympic future is mapped out well beyond France:

The 2034 Winter Olympics will mark the fifth time the United States has hosted the Winter Olympics. The U.S. has also hosted four Summer Olympics and will host again in Los Angeles in 2028. The International Olympic Committee is currently in talks with Switzerland as a potential host for the 2038 Games.