The venues for the 2030 Winter Olympics have been officially confirmed, with most events taking place in Lyon and the French Alps. However, long track speed skating will be held in the Netherlands. A total of 11 competition venues have been chosen, mostly in southern France. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) finalized the locations on Wednesday, confirming where ice sports and alpine skiing will take place. In Lyon, curling, figure skating, and short track speed skating will be held at three different sites, including the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, which is the home stadium for a top French football team in Ligue 1. Alpine skiing events, such as downhill and super-G, will be held in Courchevel, while slalom events will take place in Val d'Isère. These decisions come after a challenging period for the 2030 Games organizers, who have had to make several changes to their original plans. Earlier this year, organizers had to move the "ice sports hub" from Nice to Lyon after the city's mayor, Eric Ciotti, refused to allow the local football stadium to be converted into a temporary ice rink. In addition, Edgar Grospiron recently stepped down as president of the organizing committee just 18 months after taking the role, following a difficult time marked by budget cuts. The long track speed skating events will be held at the Thialf arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands. This decision was made as part of an agreement with the IOC to reduce costs, avoiding the need to build new venues that may not have a lasting legacy in the host region. This will be the first time an Olympic event—either summer or winter—takes place in a different country from the host city or region. The 2030 Winter Games will feature 16 different sports, including freeride skiing, snowboarding, and synchro9, a new addition to the Winter Olympics that involves synchronized figure skating. However, for the first time, the Games will not include nordic combined, a sport that has been removed from the program.