Dolomiti Valtellina to Host 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games; Paraguay Bids for 2030 Youth Olympics

The Italian Alps will host the 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee announced last week.

The Games will be held in Northern Valtellina, Trentino and Cortina. Seven of the 11 proposed venues for the Youth Olympics will also be used in the 2026 Winter Games.

“The election of Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 is an expression of the IOC’s confidence in Italy’s ability to deliver world class, exceptional winter sports events,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement.

The program will include biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating and skiing. No athlete will stay more than an hour from their venue, with seven out of 11 venues less than 15 minutes from their respective village.

Venues will include Stelvio Alpine Skiing Centre in Bormio, Livigno Aerials and Mogul Park and Livigno Snow Park for freestyle/snowboard, Cortina Sliding Centre for bobsleigh, skeleton and luge, Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium, Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium and Cortina Olympic Stadium for curling.

Paraguay Bidding for 2030 Youth Games

Paraguay President Santiago Peña came to IOC headquarters on Thursday with his country’s bid to host the 2030 Youth Olympics in Asunción, the same year it will stage one of the opening games of the FIFA men’s World Cup.

“The idea behind this is to make Paraguay the center for many of these major sporting events,” Peña told reporters after leading a delegation to meet International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.

The scale of the Youth Olympics — which had about 4,000 athletes in 32 sports when last held in 2018 in Buenos Aires — is similar to the Junior Pan-American Games that Paraguay will host in August.

“We have the organizational capacity,” said the Paraguayan president for the past 18 months, who acknowledged his country of about seven million people is too little known globally.

Interest to host the 2030 Youth Olympics has been shown by Denmark, India and Thailand. The 2026 edition is in Dakar, Senegal.

Hosting international sports can be a faster path to international recognition, and Paraguay also is bidding for the 2031 Pan-Am Games along with Rio de Janeiro

“We are deeply grateful to the National Olympic Committees, the governments and authorities of Paraguay and Brazil for submitting their bids,” said Jimena Saldaña, secretary general of Panam Sports. “We wish them every success in this exciting process that will undoubtedly strengthen the development of sport in our region.”