OLYMPICS: Speed skating moves to Netherlands, Lyon to host ice sports in 2030 Winter Games

The IOC has approved plans for speed skating to be staged in the Netherlands at the 2030 Winter Olympics, citing the lack of a suitable venue in France. Several other ice sports will also relocate from Nice to Lyon as organizers seek a more compact and cost-effective Games.

Reuters

June 23, 2026

OLYMPICS: Speed skating moves to Netherlands, Lyon to host ice sports in 2030 Winter Games

An image of the national flag of Netherlands courtesy of Shalev Cohen/Unsplash via Wix.

Shalev Cohen/Unsplash via Wix

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.

-Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, Editing by William Maclean/Reuters

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