Photo/Illutration Demonstrators in Sapporo brave subzero temperatures in January as they call on the city to scrap its bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

MUMBAI--Japan’s Sapporo withdrew its bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics because the Games were “too soon” for the city, the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday.

The mayor of Sapporo said on Wednesday that the northern Japanese city will consider hosting the Winter Olympics in 2034 or later after the fallout from the bribery and bid-rigging scandals linked to the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.

“They are going to remain in continuous dialogue phase which is designed to be flexible. It’s non-committal on both sides,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told a press conference after the opening day of its executive board meeting in Mumbai.

“There will continue to be some dialogue over the coming years. But they have obviously made it clear that 2030 is too soon for them.”

Venues vying to hold the 2030 Games include Salt Lake City in the United States, Sweden, Switzerland and France.

Sapporo and the Japanese Olympic Committee had suspended active promotion of the city’s bid amid a widening corruption scandal surrounding the Tokyo Games, which were pushed back by a year and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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