Familiar bidders for 2026 Games

TOKYO - After finding it difficult to sell the 2026 Winter Olympics, the IOC finally has two countries that are all in: Sweden and Italy.

It's Stockholm, the capital of Sweden and the self-described capital of Scandinavia, up against a joint Italian bid of global fashion capital Milan and the ski resort center of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

"I will refrain from making any comments because I guess both candidate cities are in the room," International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said last week, addressing a convention of 1,400 delegates from the world's 206 Olympic committees.