The 2023 Alpine World Ski Championships will be taking place in the Alps – although it is yet to be decided whether they’ll be in French or Austrian Alps.
Two bids to host the bi-annual Championships were received by the International Ski Federation (FIS) by the cut-off date on Monday May 1st, 2017 – a joint bid by Courchevel-Meribel in France, and from Saalbach-Hinterglemm in Austria.
“FIS is delighted in the interest for the organisation of our flagship events. All four* candidates bring a wealth of organisational experience at the highest levels and we anticipate their bids to be both exceptional and very diverse for the FIS World Championships in 2023,” commented FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. (*including the two candidate resorts for the equivalent Nordic Championships).
The competition, rated as the second biggest for downhill skiing after the Olympics, is (in contrast to the Winter Olympics) seeing a run of European editions. After the last North American Championships at Vail – Beaver Creek in 2015, this year saw the Championships in St Moritz, the next will be in Are, Sweden in 2019 and the 2021 Championships are scheduled for Cortina in Italy.
A first briefing with the Candidates will take place during the FIS Calendar Conference in Portoroz (SLO), the last week of May. Their detailed concept for the project is due by 1st September 2017 based on a specific FIS Questionnaire, containing details such as plans for sports organisation, venue and facilities, legacy, workforce and volunteers, sustainability and environment, accommodation, transportation, security, commercial rights and marketing, broadcast operations and media services, communications and promotion, ceremonies, spectator services, the ski festival, legal aspects, organisation structure and financing.
The FIS Inspection Group members led by Sarah Lewis, FIS Secretary General will review the project in detail together with the Candidate during this phase from 1st May until 30th September 2017. Thereafter a meeting with each of the Candidates will take place during the FIS Technical Committee Meetings in early October in Zurich (SUI) after which each Candidate will finalise its concept for the FIS World Championships.
The FIS Council will elect the Organisers of the 2023 FIS World Championships at the 51st International Ski Congress in Costa Navarino (GRE) in June 2018.
