The selection of a city to host each Olympics, winter or summer, is made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Selection is made seven years before the Olympics are scheduled to be held. This time buffer is intended to provide ample time for the chosen city to plan and prepare for the Olympics, which can be quite a daunting task given the enormity of the Olympic Games.

There are three phases in the Olympic selection process:

Phase 1: Applicant Cities

There are 203 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) representing not only nations, but commonwealths, geographical areas, protectorates, and territories as well. If a city wishes to host the Olympics, a formal proposal must be made through its respective NOC. Once the proposal has been received by the IOC, the city is placed on a list with other applicant cities.

Each applicant city receives an Olympics questionnaire from the IOC. The city must respond in writing to a variety of topics that range from their motivation in hosting the Olympics to what venues they intend to use for each event. Each city must also list what kinds of accommodations will be available, and what types of transportation will be provided for athletes and spectators.

Applications are reviewed by IOC members and external experts to determine each city’s potential to host the Olympics. After reading all of the questionnaires, the IOC selects a group of five cities that will continue on in the process. These semi-finalists are known as “candidate cities.”

Phase 2: Candidate Cities

Each of the five candidate cities has to respond to a new questionnaire about their plans to host the Olympics. The new questionnaire is over 250 pages long and covers such topics as media operations, marketing, and the structure and workings of the athlete’s Olympic Village. Once all of the completed questionnaires have been received, an Evaluation Commission within the IOC analyzes the detailed documents and visits each potential host city for four days.

Phase 3: The Selection

The Evaluation Commission prepares a report for the IOC listing its recommendations. It is made public one month before the final selection of an Olympics host city is made.

A meeting of the IOC general assembly takes place to make the final selection. The meeting must be held in a city that is not on the list of candidate cities.

Each active member of the IOC general assembly gets one vote to choose the new Olympics host city. Members who reside in a country that has a city on the final list cannot participate in the voting process as long as that city is in contention.

A first round of secret votes is taken. If no city wins a majority of votes, the city that received the least amount of votes is removed from the list and the general assembly members vote again. The results of each vote are made public as soon as the votes are counted. Voting continues in this manner until a selection is made and announced.