The Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy were a massive success. After Sunday’s final gold medal competitions and the closing ceremony, the Games are officially concluded for Winter athletes—for at least the next four years.
This marked the first time since 2006 that the Winter Games were held in Europe, and the tradition continues: during the closing ceremony, the Olympic flag is passed to the next host country. For 2030, that will be the French Alps.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) nominated the French Alps as the host region in 2023, and the decision was officially approved at the 142nd IOC Session in Paris in July 2024.
The 2030 Games will run from Feb. 1 to Feb. 17, with the Opening Ceremony kicking things off and the Closing Ceremony wrapping up the event. They will be officially known as the 2030 French Alps Olympics.
France most recently hosted the Summer Olympics in 2024, but hosting the Winter Games is not new for the country either. They have held the Winter Olympics three times before, most recently in 1992 in Albertville, as well as in 1924 (Chamonix) and 1968 (Grenoble).
The 2030 Games will take place in the French Alps, a portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within France, spanning the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regions.
Many of the specific event locations are still being finalized, and NBC is set to once again serve as the lead network to broadcast the Games, just as they did this year in Milan.
Following the 2030 Games, the United States will return as host, with Salt Lake City, Utah set to stage the 2034 Winter Olympics.