Annecy also wants to host the 2018 Winter Olympics

German candidate Munich has gained another competitor in the race to bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics: the French ski resort of Annecy, which is considered to have a good chance of winning the bid. South Korea's Pyeongchang had already thrown its hat into the ring of Olympic bidders. More candidates are expected before the end of the official application deadline, which the IOC set for October this year. However, the IOC will not decide who hosts the 2018 Winter Olympics until mid-2011.

Annecy is located near the border between France and Switzerland in the French department of Haute-Savoie, whose capital is also the ski resort. Other well-known ski areas nearby include Sestriere and Val d'Isère, where the Alpine World Ski Championships were most recently held. France already has extensive experience hosting major sporting events, particularly winter sports events. In addition to various world and European championships held in the French Alps, Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble (1968) and Albertville (1992) have all hosted Winter Olympic Games on French soil.

Annecy is now considered Munich's first genuine competitor, as Pyeongchang, and South Korea in general, are thought to have little more than an outside chance. At the Biathlon World Championships held in Pyeongchang in February, the South Korean organizers certainly failed to demonstrate their ability to host the Olympics.