Catalunya firms up winter Olympics bid, Istanbul to return for 2036 Games

The Generalitat de Catalunya has stepped up its campaign for a Pyrenees-Barcelona 2030 winter Olympic and Paralympic Games by submitting a letter of intent to the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), while Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has said the Turkish city will bid for the 2036 summer Games.

The Catalan letter, which has been reported by Catalunya Ràdio, has been entered by President Pere Aragonès with an Olympic bid having been first floated by then Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, in 2010.