Australia will partner with New Zealand to bid for the 2042 Winter Olympics with the nations respective top level sporting committees, athletes and governments openly discussing a potential formal bid.
With Switzerland all but secured for the 2040 Winter Olympics, the IOC is said to be looking to Asia for 2042 with Japan a strong contender. The antipodean bid will, instead, push Australasia as a viable location for the first Winter Olympics in the southern hemisphere.
The combined bid makes sense. New Zealand has a strong history in hosting the annual “Winter Games” international competition in the South Island and Australia’s Olympic hosting history includes the summer Games for Melbourne in 1956, Sydney in 2000 and the future event in Brisbane in 2032.
Both countries punch above their weight on the FIS World Cup circuit with multiple Crystal Globes, podium placements and World Champions across mainly freestyle disciplines. Australia has 19 Winter Olympic medals (6 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze) to its name and New Zealand has six (2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze).
“We’re no longer the countries that could in elite winter snow sports, we’re the countries that can,” said the bid organising committee in the press release sent out this morning.
The two nations believe they have a viable pitch that addresses travel time and stadium capacities. Australia’s main Olympic hub will be between Canberra and Jindabyne and New Zealand’s between Christchurch, Queenstown and Wanaka.
Winter stadiums
With a mere three hour flight between the two countries the Opening Ceremony is set to be at an extended GIO Stadium in Canberra to seat 60,000 and the closing ceremony at the One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch which seats 30,000.
Freestyle event locations
Cardrona will be pitched for the halfpipe, slopestyle and big air events. The resort already boasts a Winter Olympic sized halfpipe (the only one in the southern hemisphere) and is the chosen slopestyle training ground for many international athletes. The new Soho Basin area will also house the SBX course and a freestyle athlete village will be built in nearby Wanaka.
In a further boost for the Snowy Mountains town of Jindabyne, Thredbo is being pitched to host aerials with the jumps to be built where last year’s shorter training halfpipe was built. Perisher will be the location for the mogul events, the home to so many of Australia’s mogul legends with the ANC Cup held annually on Toppa’s run with international competitors.
Alpine racing
New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, the current number two in the world for Alpine GS will be able to compete at home at Roundhill, the Mackenzie resort with the highest lifted point, longest and steepest rope tow and the largest vertical drop in Australasia.
The USA, Austrian and other international alpine teams already train at the resort which will undergo multi million dollar upgrades should the bid win. They are also ear marked for the ski mountaineering events.
Ice skating, speed skating, ice hockey, ski jumping
Canberra is set to become a winter sports training capital with some serious investment should they win the 2040 Winter Olympics. A new ice arena will be built at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra and will host both figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey.
Cromwell will be home to a new snow sliding course for luge and skeleton in New Zeland and a ski jumping venue will be built not far from the turnoff road to Treble Cone in Wanaka.
Cross country
Snow Farm in New Zealand will also expand and be the home of the XC Skiing events. Rumours that Big Mountain Freeride skiing and snowboarding will be included in the Winter Olympics within the next few years means that Alta chutes at The Remarkables (and potentially the Doolans if approved in time) will most likely be the venue.
The full bid proposal with proposed event renders can be found here.
