IOC confirms 2030 Winter Olympic venues across France with long-track speed skating in the Netherlands

The International Olympic Committee confirmed on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, the competition venues for the 2030 Winter Games, allocating events across Lyon and the French Alps while placing long-track speed skating in the Netherlands. The programme will be staged at 11 competition venues, primarily across southern France.

The IOC finalised the allocation for ice sports and alpine skiing, appointing Lyon to host curling, figure skating and short-track speed skating at three sites, including Parc Olympique Lyonnais, the home of the seven-time Ligue 1 champions. Those three Lyon sites will form the Games' ice-sports cluster following the IOC announcement.

Alpine skiing venues were confirmed with Courchevel selected for the speed disciplines — the downhill and super-G, including team events — and Val d'Isere designated to stage the slalom competitions.

Long-track speed skating was previously confirmed in May to take place at the Thialf arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Holding the speed skating in a pre-existing arena outside France was a condition agreed with the IOC when the French Alps were awarded the Games in order to reduce costs, as organisers do not want to build new venues that would not have a definite legacy in the host region.

The venue announcement closes a turbulent period for the 2030 organisers: in May the Games' 'ice sports hub' was moved from Nice to Lyon after Nice mayor Eric Ciotti refused to allow Nice's football stadium to be converted into a temporary ice rink. Those changes followed several revisions to the original plans for the host-region layout.

Edgar Grospiron left his position as president of the organising committee last month, 18 months after his appointment, amid a turbulent reign and budget cuts for the Games.

There will be 16 different sporting disciplines at French Alps 2030, with freeride skiing and snowboarding, plus synchro9 - synchronised figure skating - added to the Winter Olympics for the first time; the 2030 Games will be the first not to feature nordic combined after the sport was removed from the programme.

It is the first time that an Olympic event - summer or winter - will be held in a different independent nation to the host city or region. The IOC confirmation finalises the venue plan for the 2030 Winter Games.