Reforms approved on Monday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could pave the way for Norway to host the Games.
The IOC approved changes to the bidding process that will make it easier and more affordable for smaller countries to compete to host the Olympics. Future prospective hosts can now hold events outside of the host city or country, clearing the way for Norway to join forces with neighbours Denmark and Sweden to bring the Olympics to Scandinavia.
“I hope that this will prompt the Scandinavian countries to make a bid,” IOC vice president John Coates said in Monaco on Monday, according to Danish newspaper Politiken.
Gerhard Heiberg, a Norwegian member of the IOC, said he hoped Copenhagen would lead the way for a Scandinavian Olympic bid.
“You can easily imagine Copenhagen going together with Malmö or Gothenburg, or even Oslo, and I am positive that a Scandinavian bid would be taken seriously,” Heiberg told Politiken.
Heiberg is one of six Scandinavians among the IOC’s 104 members. Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik is also an IOC member.
See The Local Denmark for reactions from Copenhagen
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