Society

Sapporo gives up Winter Olympics bid

SAPPORO, Dec 20 (News On Japan) - The city of Sapporo has officially announced the suspension of its bid for hosting the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Sapporo Mayor, Katsuhiro Akimoto, declared, "We find ourselves in a position where we have no choice but to suspend our current bid efforts."

A meeting hosted by Sapporo City was attended by representatives from the business community, sports associations, and municipalities with competition venues.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last month decided to focus on the French Alps for the 2030 Winter Games and Salt Lake City, USA, for 2034. They also plan to prioritize dialogue with Switzerland for the 2038 Games.

While there is a possibility of resuming the bid in the future, Mayor Akimoto stated, "Predicting when to resume the bid is difficult, but we have decided to pause in order to preserve the potential for future opportunities."

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