Turkey's Erzurum applies to host 2026 Winter Olympics

Turkey's eastern Erzurum province has expressed interest in hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, according to an official announcement on Tuesday.

The National Olympic Committee of Turkey said in a statement that along with Erzurum, Switzerland's Sion, Japan's Sapporo, Canada's Calgary, Austria's Graz, Swedish capital Stockholm and a joint bid from Italy's Cortina d'Ampezzo, Milan and Turin are all in the initial process.

The cities will enter a dialogue stage until October when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will invite an unspecified number of cities to take part in the one-year candidature phase, the statement added.

The IOC will elect the winning city in Milan in September 2019, it said.

Erzurum previously hosted the World Universiade Winter Games in 2011, World Mixed Doubles Curling Tournament in 2012 and The European Youth Olympic Festival in 2017. The city will host Winter European Youth Olympics in 2019.

The city has some of the best winter sport facilities and its Palandöken Mountain is a top winter tourism attraction for skiers.

Palandöken provides an opportunity for night skiing via its world-standard lighting system and many new facilities like ski jumping ramps and shooting ramps for the biathlon. Moreover, the popular ski resort is only two kilometers (1.2 miles) away from the city center.