The 2022 Winter Olympics are here, just seven months following the conclusion of the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
Like the Tokyo Olympics, the Winter Games will have significantly less fan attendance. Whereas the Tokyo Games featured zero fan attendance, only "selected" spectators will be able to watch the competition in person. That is simply life amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
China has an advantage over Tokyo, however, in that it had an additional two years to plan for the event amid the pandemic, meaning it did not have to postpone the Games as did Japan. Moroever, China already had an infrastructure in place to use for the Winter Games. Beijing — host site of the 2022 Winter Olympics — will use the same venues from the 2008 Summer Games, excepting Big Air Shougang, which will host Free-style skiing big air and snowboard big air events.
This year's Olympic Games will officially be held from Friday, Feb. 4, through Sunday, Feb. 20. Here's a look at future host cities for both the Summer and Winter Games:
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Where are the Olympics this year?
The 2022 Olympics will take place in Beijing; China won the bid in July 2015 at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is only the second time in China's history it will be the host for the Olympic Games (and first since the 2008 Summer Olympics).
The 2022 Games also mark the first time the same city hosts both the Summer and Winter Games, with Beijing becoming the 11th city to host multiple Olympic Games. China is just the ninth country to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The 2022 Winter Olympics also mark the last of three straight Games held in East Asian countries, following the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The Beijing National Stadium — officially called the National Stadium but also known by its nickname, the "Bird's Nest" — will host both the opening and closing ceremonies. Almost all events will take place in Beijing, except for outdoor winter events; those will take place in Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, cities neighboring Beijing.
Below are the venues for the 2022 Olympics, plus the accompanying events for each:
| Venue | Events |
| National Stadium | Opening, closing ceremonies |
| National Aquatics Center | Curling/wheelchair curling |
| National Indoor Stadium | Ice hockey/para ice hockey |
| Wukesong Sports Center | Ice hockey |
| National Speed Skating Oval | Speed skating |
| Capital Indoor Stadium | Short-track speed skating, figure skating |
| Big Air Shougang | Freestyle skiing big air, snowboard big air |
| National Sliding Center | Bobsleigh, skeleton, luge |
| National Alpine Ski Center | Alpine skiing/para alpine skiing |
| National Biathlon Center | Biathlon/para biathlon, para cross-country skiing |
| National Ski Jumping Center | Ski jumping, Nordic combined |
| National Cross-Country Center | Cross-country, Nordic combined |
| Genting Snow Park | Freestyle skiing, snowboarding/para snowboarding |
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Future Olympics locations
The 2020 and 2022 Games created a first in Olympic history as the first Games to be held in consecutive years. The 2020 Summer Games were held in Tokyo in the 2021 calendar year after a yearlong postponement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022 Winter Games suffered no such delay, taking place just seven months after the Summer Games' closing ceremonies. Following the conclusion of this year's Winter Olympics, the Games will return to taking place every two years, starting with Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Milan will host the 2026 Winter Games, followed by Los Angeles in the 2028 Summer Games. Brisbane will host the 2032 Summer Games.
As it stands, four nations — Spain, the United States, Japan and Canada — are bidding for the 2030 Winter Games to be held in one of Barcelona, Salt Lake City, Sapporo or Vancouver, respectively. The final selection will be held at the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai, India, in 2023.
- 2024: Paris (Summer)
- 2026: Milan Cortina (Winter)
- 2028: Los Angeles (Summer)
- 2030: TBD (Winter)
- 2032: Brisbane (Summer)
2024 Summer Olympics: Paris
Bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics began in 2015. Paris beat out four cities — Hamburg, Rome, Budapest and Los Angeles — for the right to host the Games. After Hamburg, Rome and Budapest ultimately withdrew their names from contention, the IOC approved concurrent Paris and Los Angeles to host the 2024 and '28 Olympics at an Extraordinary IOC Session in 2017 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The formal announcement for said decision took place at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru.
The 2024 Summer Games, scheduled for July 26 through August 11, 2024, will give France its sixth overall Olympic competition: The first came in 1904, when it hosted the second-ever modern Olympics, also in Paris. The 2024 Summer Games will not only mark the third overall for France, but also its first in 100 years: The previous Games took place in 1904 (Paris) and 1924 (Paris). France has also hosted Winter Games in 1924 (Chamonix), 1968 (Grenoble) and 1992 (Albertville).
Paris will also become just the third city after London (1908, 1948, 2012) to host three Summer Games. It will also consist of several venues spread throughout the area, including the Grand Paris zone (eight sports), Paris Center zone (19 sports), Versailles (four sports) and outlying zones (six sports).
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2026 Winter Olympics: Milan Cortina
Italy's Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo were selected as joint hosts of the 2026 Winter Games, beating out Stockholm-Are (Sweden) at the 134th IOC Session in July 2019 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The 2026 Winter Olympics will mark the first time two cities are listed as hosts in an official capacity.
The 2026 Winter Games, scheduled to take place from Feb. 6 through Feb. 22, 2026, will mark the fourth Olympic Games hosted in Italy, and first for Milan. The first was the 1956 Winter Games (Cortina d'Ampezzo), followed by the 1960 Summer Games (Rome) and 2006 Winter Games (Turin).
Clusters for the 2026 Winter Olympics include Milan, an Assago stand-alone venue, Valtellina, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Val di Fiemme and Verona.
2028 Summer Olympics: Los Angeles
Los Angeles was named as the host of the 2028 Olympics in a concurrent announcement for Paris in 2024. The 2028 Olympics will make Los Angeles just the third city (following London and Paris, respectively) to host three Olympic Games. Los Angeles also hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Games.
The 2028 Olympics will also mark the first time the United States hosts Olympic Games since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The 2028 Summer Olympics will be the ninth time the U.S. hosts Olympic Games; the next-closest country, including future dates, is France (six).
Venues will range from the downtown Los Angeles Sports Park, Valley Sports Park, South Bay Sports Park, Long Beach Sports Park, Westside and beyond.
2032 Summer Olympics: Brisbane
Brisbane, Australia was confirmed as the host of the 2032 Olympics at the 138th IOC Session in Tokyo ahead of the 2021 Olympic Games. It's the third time Australia will host an Olympics; Melbourne hosted the 1956 Games and Sydney hosted the 2000 Games.
The IOC has begun confirming Olympic host cities 11 years in advance to allow local officials more lead time to plan and build infrastructure. Previously, host cities were selected seven years ahead of the Games.
UPD