MADRID (AP) — The mayor of Barcelona says he will launch a bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics if Madrid fails to secure the Summer Games in 2020.
Xavier Trias says that if the International Olympic Committee does not award the games to the Spanish capital when it meets in Buenos Aires in September, Barcelona will present its own bid.
According to Trias, Barcelona would put forward the Pyrenees as an alpine venue.
Trias says in a radio interview on Monday that he has spoken with IOC members during the World Swimming Championships in Barcelona last week and they had “not looked badly” on the idea.
Spain is immersed in a financial crisis, an issue that has hung over Madrid’s bid.
