The Swedish Olympic Committee has approved initial plans for the bid from the towns, about 550km north of Stockholm in central Sweden, reports aroundtherings.com.
Ostersund, with a population of more than 58,000, has sought the Winter Olympics a number of times in the past 20 years, while Stockholm was in the race for the 2008 Summer Games.
Ostersund is known for its Nordic sports centre while Are is the country’s centre for alpine sports and will host the 2007 FIS world championship.
The IOC has set a July 28, 2005 deadline for cities to apply to run for the 2014 Games, with the decision coming in July 2007.
Bids are possible from Austria, France, Bulgaria, and South Korea as well as other countries in Europe now considering their options.
