the Spanish Olympic Committee (coe) will review the candidacy proposal together with aragon’s education and sports authorities. on thursday the aragon government’s education and sports minister, felipe faci, presented the plan to the coe leadership at the coe headquarters in madrid.
during the meeting the aragonese official restated the government’s aim to reach a balanced, joint, and integrated candidacy that reflects mutual commitments from aragon and catalonia.
the consultant’s proposal circulated this morning suggests alpine and cross‑country skiing in aragon and catalonia, while acrobatic/freestyle and alpine skiing would be hosted in catalonia. snowboarding and biathlon are slated for aragon.
in terms of ice sports, aragon would host curling, figure skating, and speed skating on the short track, with long track speed skating and ice hockey scheduled to take place in catalonia.
the consultant reaffirmed to the coe that this distribution offers a fair and balanced arrangement, aligning with each federation’s applause. the zoning and split of disciplines are presented as the best possible configuration, with the technical group noting that this is a stable basis for discussion.
distribution of disciplines in the aragon proposal. / government of aragon
education and sports minister felipe faci said it may be time to convene a formal table at the coe to decide how to advance. what or when such a meeting occurs depends on the coe president, and faci said the aragon government will respect that decision. if a meeting happens, aragon will put forward its offer, faci noted.
the consultant also expressed confidence that a deal is within reach. discussions would remain confidential while new information emerges, he commented. he remained hopeful that negotiations will continue toward an agreement and a candidacy that satisfies all parties involved.
facil and blanco at this thursday’s coe meeting. / government of aragon
the aragonese consultant acknowledged that the proposal remains open for dialogue. for example, he suggested that female events could be held in aragon or catalonia and male events in the other region, with the alpine tests potentially divided by season. no further details were specified, he added.
grateful for the constructive tone, he highlighted the receptivity and collaborative spirit shown by president blanco. aragon aims to keep the candidacy process moving forward in good faith and loyalty, with ongoing efforts to reach a shared plan.
the aragon government has emphasized the strong technical standard of its facilities. the region’s venues have hosted numerous international tests in recent years, underscoring their suitability for elite alpine and winter sports events.
in aragon, formigal-panticosa has hosted the international ski federation’s tests across disciplines and categories, the alpine skiing european cup final (2011), the european women’s cup (2008), and speed tests at the universiades in 1981 and 1995, as well as foje jaca 2007.
aramón cerler has hosted fsi and fadi grand prix events including the spain u18-u21 championships in 2019 and 2020, along with the fis “trofeo aramón” for gs and sl. the spanish youth u18-u21 championship reached its fourth edition in 2022.
nearby astún and candanchú have also hosted various federation tests and slalom events for foje jaca 2007, illustrating the region’s long history of winter-sport activity.