Lviv, Ukraine, pulled out of bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics on Monday, citing the nation’s political and economic circumstances.
The International Olympic Committee is set to name finalists to host the 2022 Winter Games in one week, likely the three remaining cities that submitted bids by the March 14 deadline.
Those cities are Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing and Oslo. The 2022 Olympic host will be determined by an IOC vote on July 31, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Lviv joined Krakow, Poland, as cities that withdrew their originally submitted bids. Krakow pulled out in late May after residents voted against it. Lviv said it will now focus on a 2026 Winter Olympic bid.
“In my discussions with the Ukrainian Prime Minster and [National Olympic Committee] president, we concluded that it would be extremely difficult to pursue the 2022 bid under the current circumstances,” IOC president Thomas Bach said, “but that a future bid would make sense for Ukraine and Ukrainian sport.”
Almaty hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games and is the most populated city in Kazakhstan, which has never hosted an Olympics.
Beijing, the 2008 Summer Olympic host, proposes holding Alpine events 120 miles away in Zhangjiakou and could become the first city to host a Summer and Winter Games.
Oslo hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics. The Norwegian capital’s bid faces questions over public and financial backing with an ultimate decision on whether to press forward expected by the fall.
We learned a lot during our first ever bid and will come back stronger!
— Sergey Bubka (@sergey_bubka) June 30, 2014
