Poland and the Czech Republic are planning a joint bid for the 2030 winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to Polish officials.
The masterplan would include six Czech cities and four Polish cities, according to Polish sports daily Przegląd Sportowy. In Poland, Wroclaw would host the opening ceremony; while Jelenia Gora would stage competitions in figure skating, speed skating and curling.
Karpacz has been proposed as the site for bobsleigh, luge, snowboard and ski cross; and Szklarska Poreba has been pinpointed for cross-country skiing, biathlon and Nordic combined. Szczyrk may stage some competitions in downhill skiing.
The Czech capital of Prague has been proposed as the venue for the closing ceremony, with other locations cited as being Harachov, Špindlerův Mlýn, Malá Úpa, Pec pod Sněžkou and Liberec.
“That’s right, it's time to speak loudly about our plans,” Tomasz Stanek, chairman of the Committee on Sport, Tourism and Foreign Affairs in the Carpathian region of Poland, said, according to Przegląd Sportowy.
“We have long debated how to effectively build up our centres to the world's elite… we want in 13 years the greatest athletes in the world to appear.”
Mayor of Szklarska Poreba, Miroslaw Graf, added on Facebook: “Karpacz and Szklarska together. Flies in 2030.”
Neither Poland or the Czech Republic has ever hosted the winter Olympics. The Polish city of Zakopane had bid for the 2006 Games which were awarded to Turin, Italy; while Krakow had been considering a bid for the 2022 event, but these plans came to nothing.
