Olympic Games increasingly likely to span multiple cities, says USOPC chief

NEW YORK — Future Olympic Games will likely be spread across multiple cities rather than concentrated in a single location, according to Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Hirshland said on Thursday that the expanding scale of the Olympic Games has made it increasingly difficult for host cities to manage all venues and infrastructure from a single base. The geographical dispersal of events is emerging as a pragmatic solution to address these growing logistical and financial challenges.

The shift represents a significant departure from the traditional Olympic model, which has historically seen Games concentrated in one metropolitan area. However, several recent and upcoming Olympics have already adopted elements of this distributed approach, with venues spread across wider regions to better utilize existing facilities and reduce construction costs.

The move could have implications for how host cities prepare for future bids, potentially making the prospect of staging the Games more feasible for a broader range of locations. It also raises questions about athlete experience, spectator accessibility, and the overall coherence of the Olympic event as the Games become less centralized.

As cities worldwide weigh the decision to bid for hosting rights, the USOPC's assessment suggests that adaptability in venue planning will become essential to the future viability of the Olympic Games.