The International Olympic Committee has confirmed the French Alps as the sole candidate to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2030 and Salt Lake City in the United States as the sole candidate for the 2034 edition.

The decision was made at an IOC Executive Board meeting in Paris on Wednesday.

Japan's Sapporo City made an initial bid to host the 2030 Games. But the city was effectively forced to abandon its bid because of low public support due to bid-rigging and bribery scandals tied to the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021.

Sapporo then broached the possibility of hosting the Games in 2034 or later, but the IOC's decision in October to pick the 2030 and 2034 host cities at the same time punctured that idea.