Switzerland announced on Friday that he would run for them 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Gameswhich if held will be the third time the Alpine country will host the event.

Switzerland has pledged to stage a “decentralised” Games using existing facilities scattered across the country of around 9 million people, which will reportedly be funded largely by the private sector.

A statement from the Swiss Olympic Association said that the country’s Olympic Committee member federations voted unanimously in favor of plans to host the 2030 or 2034 Winter Games at their general assembly.

The text released said the vote confirmed the common ambition to move on to the next phase of the bid process with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), called the “targeted dialogue” phase.

The IOC is set to decide which countries will advance to the next phase of the process by the end of the month.

“The representatives of Switzerland’s sports federations sent a strong message of support for a project that could give a unique boost to Swiss sport as a whole, as well as to our country,” said Olympic Committee President Jürg Stahl.

Other destinations vying to host the 2030 Games include Salt Lake City in the United States, which hosted the 2002 event, as well as Sweden and France.

The northern Japanese city of Sapporo last month withdrew its bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics and said it would consider hosting the Games in 2034 or in subsequent years.

“Switzerland is lucky that it already has almost all the necessary infrastructure, from sports venues to the transport network and accommodation,” Urs Lehmann, president of the Swiss ski association, argued last month, adding: “Let’s seize this opportunity. »

The International Olympic Committee last month approved a proposal to seek a double allocation of back-to-back Winter Games in 2030 and 2034 due to concerns over the threat of climate change to snow sports. He is expected to make the selection next year.

According to studies by the IOC committee on the future hosts of the Winter Games, only 10 nations will be able to host the snow sports of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics by 2040.

Switzerland – which hosted the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948 – has struggled in recent years to convince its population to support its Olympic bids.

Its attempts to host the Games have been rejected in referendums several times. The country’s Olympic Committee said the cantons in which the facilities that could serve as venues are located had been consulted and had given their agreement in principle to the Games.

A public vote has caused Switzerland to withdraw its bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Abezzo.

The country has never hosted a summer Olympics.