Speed skating moves to Netherlands, Lyon to host ice sports in 2030 Winter Games
Olympic rings in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), during an Executive Board meeting at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
June 23 : Speed skating is set for a move to the Netherlands in the 2030 Winter Olympics, after the IOC's executive board approved a venue plan for the Games to be hosted in the French Alps, with several ice sports also moving from Nice to Lyon.
• The Thialf ice arena in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, has been proposed as the speed skating venue at the 2030 Winter Olympics.
• Organisers wanted a speed skating venue outside France "given the absence of an existing one in the host country," the IOC said on Monday.
• Curling, figure skating, ice hockey and short track are being moved from Nice to Lyon.
• "This evolution supports a more compact overall Games footprint and enables significant cost efficiencies," the governing body added.
• Nice had originally been designated as the Games’ southern “ice sports hub” under the French Alps bid, grouping all indoor events in a major coastal city despite a need to build or adapt venues.
