In the Arctic Circle, Narvik bids to host Alpine ski worlds

OBERHOFEN, Switzerland — Inside the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian coastal town of Narvik was named Sunday as a candidate to host Alpine skiing’s world championships in 2027.

At more than 68 degrees north latitude, Narvik is further north than the most northerly venue on the World Cup circuit at Levi, Finland.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) said Narvik is competing with three rivals: Crans-Montana, Switzerland; Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; Soldeu, Andorra.

Norway has never hosted a standalone Alpine world championships, though the 1952 Oslo Winter OIympics counted as a worlds that year.

Narvik hosted the junior world championships in March 2020 that were canceled during the event as a precaution when the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic.

It last hosted World Cup races 25 years ago and has only ever staged two race meetings on the women’s circuit.

FIS will choose the 2027 host at its congress next year.

Narvik’s three rivals are regular stops on the World Cup circuit. Crans-Montana and Garmisch-Partenkirchen also previously hosted the worlds and were the losing candidates last year when the 2025 edition was awarded to Saalbach, Austria.


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