The president of the 2030 Winter Olympics organising committee has left the role just 18 months after his departure, sparking fresh concerns over the governance of this Games after months of turmoil.
Edgar Grospiron on Thursday, the 1992 Olympic moguls champion, had been widely expected to leave and his departure was formalised at a meeting of the organising committee’s executive board on Thursday.
The 2030 French Alps executive board said it had “taken note” of his decision to step down and added: “His decision to leave the presidency is part of a deliberate, organised and fully assumed transition, taken in the interests of the project and its governance.
“It reflects a shared desire with stakeholders to enable the organisation to quickly enter this new operational phase.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement that it acknowledged Grospiron’s decision to resign and thanked him “for his crucial work in laying the foundations for the success of the Alpes 2030 Games”.
It added: “The IOC will continue working in close collaboration with the Organising Committee to build on the solid foundations that Mr Grospiron has laid.
Grospiron, who was appointed in February 2025, later wrote on LinkedIn in a post confirming his exit that it followed “months of tension” behind the scenes.
He said: “I draw the conclusion that the conditions are not met for me to continue this.”
His departure comes six months after chief executive Cyril Linette stepped down, citing “insurmountable disagreements” between the pair. Vincent Roberti was appointed as Linette’s successor in May.
Chief operating officer Anne Murac and communications director Arthur Richer are among other high-profile figures to have stepped down from the project.
“There is no concern about what comes next. As we’ve seen, the bid is continuing to move forward,” French sports minister Marina Ferrari told reporters. “Our teams are mobilised and working. We are confident about the future of the Alpes project.”
Grospiron came close to being ousted during the Milano Cortina Winter Games earlier this year, following a series of other senior departures, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
Key Games stakeholders, including the French government, the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur and Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes regions, and the French Olympic and Paralympic committees, CNOSF and CPSF, told the International Olympic Committee in late August that “trust had been broken” with Grospiron, the source said.
The rupture followed a tense executive board meeting on 23 July at which Grospiron sought to push through two appointments, the source added.
The organising committee said an extraordinary general assembly on 14 September would put an interim presidency in place pending the appointment of Grospiron’s successor.
Reuters
