The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to choose between two European bidders to host the 2026 Winter Olympics when members convene Monday in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Vying for the Games are entrants from Milan-Cortina and Stockholm-Are.
The Milan-Cortina bid is from the northern Italy region. Stockholm is the capital and largest city of Sweden, while the ski-resort area of Are is 335 miles to the northwest.
The bid from Sweden also includes participation from Latvia, across the Baltic Sea, which would host the bobsled competition on its track at Sigulda. It’s an effort to avoid building a venue in Sweden to help keep down costs.
Whichever location wins the vote, it will mark a return of the Winter Olympics to Europe. The 2018 Games were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Beijing will host the 2022 Games.
Italy has hosted two Winter Games — Cortina in 1956 and Turin in 2006 — as well as the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
Stockholm hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics.
–Field Level Media
