Olympics: Stockholm considering bid to host 2030 Winter Games

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Stockholm is considering a bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and potentially rival the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, the Associated Press reported.

While the International Olympic Committee in December decided to delay its selection process, bribery and bid-rigging scandals related to the Tokyo Olympics have derailed support in Japan for Sapporo, previously seen as the favorite for 2030.

Salt Lake City, the American host of the 2002 Olympics, is currently the other main candidate. Vancouver's bid is unlikely to go forward after the city's provincial government declined to support it.

Anders Larsson, acting chairman of the Swedish Olympic Committee, was quoted by the AP as saying in a dispatch Wednesday from Stockholm, "We already have virtually all the arenas required to arrange the largest Winter Games."

A joint Stockholm-Are bid from Sweden failed to secure the 2026 games, losing out to the joint Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo bid from Italy.