Alpes 2030 to be first gender-equal Olympic Winter Games – freeride (ski and snowboard) and synchro9 (figure skating) athletes to debut
Snowboard parallel giant slalom and Nordic combined
When approving the Milano Cortina 2026 sports programme in 2022, the IOC EB decided to closely monitor the performance of snowboard parallel giant slalom (PGS) and Nordic combined, considering challenges observed in past editions of the Games from a participation and audience engagement perspective.
During every Games edition, the IOC conducts a global study covering all Olympic Winter Games sports, disciplines and events across key markets on all five continents. The evaluation during Milano Cortina 2026 measured 14 popularity indicators across broadcast coverage, digital media, general public interest, ticketing and press, involving up to 50+ markets per indicator.
The IOC EB noted that PGS – as part of the discipline of snowboard – had demonstrated significant improvement since Beijing 2022 across a number of popularity indicators. It was therefore decided to retain the PGS events on the Alpes 2030 programme, provided that they will not have a standalone field of play.
Based on the findings of this study, together with trends observed across previous studies of past editions of the Olympic Winter Games, the IOC EB discussed the status of Nordic combined and decided not to include the discipline on the Alpes 2030 programme.
Across most of the popularity indicators, Nordic combined ranked lowest among all Olympic Winter Games disciplines at Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, Beijing 2022 and Milano Cortina 2026. At the most recent Olympic Winter Games, it was the lowest-ranked discipline in 11 of the 14 popularity indicators assessed.
In addition, the discipline continues to face challenges in terms of universality and participation at the Olympic Games. Only five National Olympic Committees (NOCs) won medals in Nordic combined across the last four editions of the Olympic Winter Games.
Nordic combined will remain on the programme of the Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games and is eligible for future inclusion at the Utah 2034 Olympic Winter Games through the candidate discipline pathway under the evaluation process established within the Fit for the Future strategic framework.
Nordic combined athletes and Olympians will continue to have access to all the programmes designed for athletes and Olympians which are available via Athlete365.
As a principle, feedback on the 14 popularity indicators has also been provided to all International Federations so that they can work closely with the IOC to further improve for the next Games editions, particularly those disciplines and events with lower rankings.
The discipline and event programme for Alpes 2030 was assessed in line with the previously established evaluation criteria and not under the new framework approved on 25 June 2026 by the IOC Session, as part of the IOC Fit for the Future process, which will be applied only from Brisbane 2032 onwards.
First gender-equal Olympic Winter Games
As a result of the changes introduced to the programme, Alpes 2030 is set to achieve gender parity by quota allocation for the first time in Olympic Winter Games history, building on the progress achieved at Milano Cortina 2026, which delivered the most gender-balanced edition to date.
Female athlete quota places will account for 50 per cent of the total quota of 3,046 athletes. The programme will also achieve parity in the number of events staged, with 56 women’s and 55 men’s events, in addition to 15 mixed events.
Additionally, four sports will increase women’s participation, with two reaching full parity:
- Luge: from 44.3% to 50%
- Skiing: from 48.6% to 50%
- Bobsleigh: from 32.9% to 39.5%
- Ice hockey: from 43.4% to 45.6%
