Sapporo gives up 2030 Winter Games bid

Sapporo has given up its bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee said on Wednesday, after corruption scandals over the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“JOC decided that proceeding with the bidding hastily but poorly could result in an incurable wound to the Olympics… so I proposed a change to our bidding for the Games to 2034 or later,” committee president Yasuhiro Yamashita told reporters.

Prosecutors are investigating allegations of bribery and bid-rigging at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, which were postponed to 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At least 11 people have been found guilty so far, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.