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List of Olympic Games host cities
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The following is a list of host cities of the Olympic Games, both summer and winter, since the modern Olympics began in 1896. Since then, summer and winter games have usually celebrated a four-year period known as an Olympiad. From the inaugural Winter Games in 1924 until 1992, winter and summer Games were held in the same year. Since 1994, summer and winter Games have been held in staggered even years. The last Olympic games were held at Paris in July-Aug 2024. Through 2024, there have been 30 Summer Olympic Games, held in 23 cities, and 24 Winter Olympic Games, held in 21 cities. In addition, three summer and two winter editions of the games were scheduled to take place but were later cancelled due to war: Berlin (summer) in 1916; Sapporo–Garmisch-Partenkirchen (winter) and Tokyo–Helsinki (summer) in 1940; and Cortina d'Ampezzo (winter) and London (summer) in 1944. The 1906 Intercalated Olympics were officially sanctioned and held in Athens. However, in 1949, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to unrecognize the 1906 Games.[1][2] The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were postponed for the first time in the Olympics history to summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 2022 Winter Olympics being held roughly six months later in Beijing which also hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics.[3][4]

Five cities and regions have been chosen by the IOC to host upcoming Olympic Games: the 2026 Winter Olympics will be the first Olympic Games officially shared between two host cities (Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo); Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Olympics; the 2030 Winter Olympics will be the first Olympic Games to be hosted by a region (the French Alps—comprising 7 cities and towns); Brisbane will host the 2032 Summer Olympics; and Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Winter Olympics.
In 2022, Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. By 2034, eleven cities will have hosted the Olympic Games more than once: Athens (1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics), Paris (1900, 1924 and 2024 Summer Olympics), London (1908, 1948 and 2012 Summer Olympics), St. Moritz (1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics), Lake Placid (1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics), Los Angeles (1932, 1984 and 2028 Summer Olympics), Cortina d'Ampezzo (1956 and 2026 Winter Olympics), Innsbruck (1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics), Tokyo (1964 and 2020 Summer Olympics), Beijing (2008 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics) and Salt Lake City (2002 and 2034 Winter Olympics). Stockholm hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics and the equestrian portion of the 1956 Summer Olympics. London became the first city to have hosted three Games with the 2012 Summer Olympics. Paris is the second city to do so with the 2024 edition and will be followed by Los Angeles as the third in 2028.
As of 2024,[update] a large majority of the Games (41 out of 54) have been hosted in Western Europe, the United States, Canada, or Australia. Eight Games have been hosted in Asia (all in East Asia), three in Eastern Europe, and two in Latin America. Africa has yet to host an Olympic Games. Other major geographic regions and subcontinents that have never hosted the Olympics include the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Antarctica, and the Caribbean. Between the first Winter Olympics in 1924 and the last ones to be held in the same year as the Summer Olympics in 1992, the Summer and Winter Games took place in the same country three times.
Usually, the Games' host cities are selected by the IOC members six to seven years in advance.[5]
Until the 2022 Winter Olympics, the selection process lasts approximately two years. In the first stage, any city in the world may apply to become a host city. After ten months, the Executive Board of the IOC decides which applicant cities will become official candidates based on the recommendation of a working group that reviews the applications. In the second stage, the candidate cities are investigated thoroughly by an Evaluation Commission, which then submits a final short list of cities for selection. The host city is then chosen by vote of the IOC session, a general meeting of IOC members.[6] There was a change in host selection process in the late 2010s to address several problems – including the costs of hosting and the disappointment felt by unsuccessful applicants. Called Olympic Agenda 2020,[7] this new process is focused on reducing the cost of Games, minimising wasteful single-use construction projects and increasing the benefits felt by host nations. Bids are now easier and less expensive to prepare. The 2032 Summer Games host city was the first to be fully selected under this process, but other elements and rules were introduced later.
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Olympic Games host cities
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Host cities for Summer and Winter Olympic Games
Key
† Cancelled
§ Postponed
- The 1906 Intercalated Games, which took place in Athens, are no longer officially recognized by the IOC as an official Olympic Games.
- The IOC has also entered "privileged dialogue" with Switzerland for the 2038 Winter Games.[28]
Host cities for multiple Summer and Winter Olympic Games
- Italics denote future events
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Number of Olympic Games by country

10 times
7 times
4 times
3 times
Twice
Once
Never held games
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Number of Olympic Games by region
Africa has never hosted any Olympics. Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco have been acknowledged as future possibilities, although it is noted that increased dialogue and developments are needed.[31]
In addition, the Middle East, though not a continent (with most of the region situated in Asia), has never hosted an Olympic Games. Several nations have been in talks as potential hosts, but the only city to enter a formal bid was Doha (see also List of bids for the Summer Olympics).
See also
Notes
- Originally awarded to Chicago, but moved to St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair.[8][9]
- Originally awarded to Rome, but moved to London after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.[10]
- The sailing events in 1920 were held in Ostend, Belgium and in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- The 1940 Winter Olympics were originally awarded to Sapporo, Japan, but the commencement of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 caused them to be relocated to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Germany, before being cancelled in 1939 because of World War II.
- The 1940 Summer Olympics were originally awarded to Tokyo, Japan, but the commencement of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 caused them to be relocated to Helsinki, Finland, before being cancelled in 1939 because of World War II.
- Equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden, due to Australian quarantine laws. Stockholm had to bid for the equestrian competition separately; it received its own Olympic flame and had its own formal invitations and opening and closing ceremonies as per the regular Summer Olympics.[21]
- Originally awarded to Denver, Colorado, US, in 1970, but in 1972, after a failed referendum, Denver withdrew. The IOC eventually decided to relocate the Games to Innsbruck, Austria.
- Russia (like the former Soviet Union) spans the continents of Europe and Asia. However, the Russian Olympic Committee is part of the European Olympic Committees and has its official seat in Moscow (this was also the case for the former Soviet Olympic Committee). Also, Moscow is on the European side of the most commonly recognized boundary between Europe and Asia (Sochi is in Asia per the usual geographic boundary, being just south of the Greater Caucasus' western end; but political approximations of the continental boundary place it in Europe).
- Located in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Equestrian events were held in Hong Kong.[23] Although Hong Kong's separate NOC conducted the equestrian competition, it was an integral part of the Beijing Games: unlike the 1956 Stockholm equestrian competition, it was not conducted under a separate Hong Kong bid, separate flame, etc.
- The 2020 Summer Olympics were originally scheduled for 24 July to 9 August 2020, but were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the event was still referred to as the 2020 Summer Olympics (marking the 32nd Olympiad) to preserve the 4-year Olympiad cycle.[3]
- Surfing events were held in France's overseas collectivity of French Polynesia, where there is a separate NOC but not a member of the International Olympic Committee.[25]
- The Olympic Host Contract officially designates the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur as the hosts of the 2030 Winter Olympics.[26]
- The 2016 Summer Olympics were the first Olympics to be held in South America.[30]
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References
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