List of Olympic Games host cities

For individual summer and winter lists, see List of Summer Olympic Games and List of Winter Olympic Games

Map of host cities and countries of the modern summer (orange) and winter (blue) Olympics. * Tokyo hosted the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the SVG file, tap or hover over a city to show its name (only on the desktop).

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. 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, 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, Central America, 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.

  1. ^ Findling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberly D. (2004). Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-313-32278-5.
  2. ^ Karl Lennartz. "The 2nd International Olympic Games In Athens 1906" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. No. Dec. 2001–Jan. 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  3. ^ "IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Announce New Dates for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020". International Olympic Committee. 30 March 2020. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Tokyo 2020: Olympic Games organisers 'agree postponement'". BBC Sport. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  5. ^ Group, Taylor Francis (2003). The Europa World Yearbook. Taylor and Francis Group. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-85743-227-5. Archived from the original on 23 August 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Choice of the Host City". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  7. ^ "The history of the process to elect Olympic Hosts". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.