Winter Olympic Games
Host city legacy

According to the IOC, the host city for the Winter Olympics is responsible for "...establishing functions and services for all aspects of the Games, such as sports planning, venues, finance, technology, accommodation, catering, media services, etc., as well as operations during the Games". Due to the cost of hosting the Games, most host cities never realise a profit on their investment. For example, the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, cost $3.6 billion to host. By comparison, the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, cost $12.5 billion. The organisers of the Nagano Games claimed that the cost of extending the bullet train service from Tokyo to Nagano was responsible for the large price tag.

The organising committee had hoped that the exposure gained from hosting the Winter Olympics, and the improved access to Nagano from Tokyo, would benefit the local economy for years afterwards. In fact, Nagano's economy did experience a post-Olympic boom for a year or two, but the long-term effects have not materialised as anticipated. The likelihood of heavy debt is a deterrent to prospective host cities, as well as the prospect of unused sports venues and infrastructure saddling the local community with upkeep costs with no appreciable post-Olympic value.

The Winter Olympics has the added problem of the alpine events requiring a mountain location; the men's downhill needs an 800-metre altitude difference along a suitable course. As this is a focal event that is central to the Games, the IOC has previously not agreed to it taking place a long way from the main host city, in contrast to the Summer Games, where sailing and horse sports have taken place more than 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) away. The requirement for a mountain location also means that venues such as hockey arenas often have to be built in sparsely populated areas with little future need for a large arena and for the hotels and infrastructure needed for all Olympic visitors. Due to cost issues, fewer and fewer cities are willing to host. Both the Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010 Games, which were hosted in countries where large cities are located close to suitable mountain regions, had lower costs since more venues, hotels and transport infrastructure already existed. In contrast, the Sochi 2014 games had large costs as most installations had to be built.

The IOC has tried to mitigate these concerns. Firstly, it has agreed to fund part of the host city's budget. Secondly, the qualifying host countries are limited to those that have the resources and infrastructure to successfully host an Olympic Games without negatively impacting their region or nation; this rules out a large portion of the developing world. Finally, any prospective host city is required to add a "legacy plan" to their proposal, with a view to the long-term economic and environmental impact that hosting the Olympics will have.

Beginning with the 2022 Winter Games, the IOC is allowing a longer distance between the alpine events and other events. The Oslo bid had 220 kilometres (140 mi) to the Kvitfjell downhill arena, while eventual host Beijing had venues 220 km away from the city as well. For the 2026 Winter Games, Stockholm's unsuccessful bid proposed to hold the alpine event in Åre, 620 kilometres (390 mi) away by road.
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