Annecy 2018 - A one in three chance of it happening
Last Friday was the deadline for applications to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and in the end only three proposals have been put forward - the lowest number in three decades.
Competing alongside the French bid is Munich and Pyeongchang in South Korea. All three dossiers have been officially received by the International Olympic Commitee in Lausanne and will be studied carefully. A list of questions will be drawn up by the IOC early next year and each candidate has time to make considered responses to their questions, before the Olympic Committee announces the final line up of candidates.
Normally some bids are eliminated at this stage to leave three in the running, so we're not sure how it will work for the 2018 bids with only three contenders from the start. Either way, the IOC meets in Durban on July 6th 2011 where the host of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games will be decided.
Somewhat ironically, the Munich bids includes snow and ice events in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which is a town twinned with Chamonix, itself due to host skiing events (well, it's actually Les Houches!). As for the South Koreans, they also bid for the 2010 and 2014 winter games, so some are saying the money is on them to bring home the advantage for 2018.
As for the Annecy 2018 bringing the Winter Olympic Games back to France, we'll just have to wait until 2011 to find out.
