Olympic Games in the Netherlands: dream becomes increasingly realistic

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There is a growing likelihood that 102 years after the Amsterdam Summer Olympics, Olympic games will once again take place on Dutch soil.

After all, Heerenveen is increasingly coming into focus to host speed skating at the 2030 Winter Olympics. However, those Games will take place in the French Alps, but due to the lack of a suitable skating venue, the French soon ended up at Thialf. French delegations already visited the Dutch speed skating facilities several times and already spoke at length with Dutch experts about the organization of long track speed skating and everything that is involved in organizing such a large event. For example, an Olympic village and managing the crowd of enthusiastic sports fans must also be considered.

"Immediately, there was a lot of enthusiasm about our facilities. Especially the question of how we can create the Olympic feeling in Heerenveen was extensively discussed," Yvonne Kager, business manager Thialf, explains to NOS.

After all, far from the Alps and even further from Nice where short track and figure skating take place, that Olympic atmosphere must be consciously built up. However, the recent Winter Games already offer a perfect example of this. At the opening ceremony at Milan's San Siro, athletes from Livigno and Cortina d'Ampezzo, hundreds of kilometers away, came into full view.

"We're not a country that can host the Winter Games. We simply don't have mountains," Kager said. "If we can grasp this part together, we will do so wholeheartedly."

The French organizing committee wants exclusive negotiations with Thialf and has sought IOC approval, after dropping rival Turin. The Netherlands submitted a bid in February 2026, supported by NOC*NSF, KNSB, the province of Friesland, the municipality of Heerenveen and the Ministry of VWS. The IOC will make its final decision at the end of June 2026.

And consequently, it looks like we will once again be able to enjoy Olympic competitions in the Netherlands in 2030, 102 years after the Amsterdam 1928 Summer Olympics. The organization of a test event in the coming years will already make a lot clearer for Thialf as a venue for long track speed skating at the 2030 Winter Olympics.

©Sean via Unsplash