Oslo, Norway votes "yes" to a 2022 winter Olympic and Paralympic bid

The Oslo 2022 Olympic and Paralympic bid reached another major milestone when a vast majority of the citizens of Oslo voted in favor of hosting the Games. The year 2022 will mark 70 years since the 1952 Oslo winter Olympics, and 28 years since IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch declared the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics “the best games ever”. With this new bid, Oslo seeks to create a spectacular, ultra-compact and urban Olympic experience for a new generation.

Reaching a major milestone

In June this year, the city of Oslo officially applied for a financial guarantee by the central government to host the 2022 winter Olympics and Paralympics Games. Last week, in a vote amongst high school students in Oslo, as many as 64 % voted in favor of the bid. Backed by a clear result (yes: 55,1 %, no: 44,9 %) from the public referendum held in Oslo on Monday, the bid has reached another major milestone.

- The Oslo 2022 Olympic and Paralympic bid has already gained broad support with the Oslo City council. With the result from both the public referendum and the student’s high school vote, we have the solid, and necessary, mandate needed to continue our work on the bid, says Governing Mayor of Oslo, Stian Berger Røsland.

- In 1994 the world of sports embraced the friendly and open values of Lillehammer, and in 2016 the Youth Olympic Games will be held in Lillehammer too. We want to build upon Norway’s solid Olympic experience, and invite the world to a spectacular celebration of sports.

Ultra-compact and urban

Over the past year, the City of Oslo, in cooperation with the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of sports, has made extensive preparations and spent 100 MNOK on conducting thorough, quality-assured background work for the bid. With the concept “Games in the City”, Oslo wish to stage ultra-compact and urban winter games in the city center. The arenas will be developed in a semi-circle around the city, with many venues located a mere 10-15 minutes from the Olympic Village. The award ceremonies will take place downtown Oslo. The alpine disciplines, including bob, luge and skeleton, will be held in the Lillehammer region.

- Oslo is probably the one and only capital city in the world that can host all the Winter Olympic disciplines, with a few exceptions, in the city itself. Our goal is to stage a full scale winter Olympic experience in an urban environment, says Director of Oslo2022, Eli Grimsby.

- The location of Oslo is truly spectacular. Situated by the Oslo fjord, with high hills surrounding the city, Oslo presents the unique combination of an international urban environment and a great nature experience, concludes Eli Grimsby.