The IOC have been boosted in the past two weeks by the remaining bids receiving Government guarantees, having granted both candidates “leeway” when submissions were made in January.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed the letter providing the guarantees required by the IOC for Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo's bid on April 5.

The letter was delivered by Giancarlo Giorgetti, Undersecretary of State, to IOC Evaluation Commission chairman Octavian Morariu during their visit to Milan.

Doubts had continued to surround whether Stockholm Åre 2026 would secure the required guarantees, until Sport Minister Amanda Lind confirmed the Government would back the effort on April 9.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfvén has rubber stamped the Government’s full support by sending a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach today, as the bid submitted their full candidature file.

“The document completes Stockholm Åre 2026’s application to deliver the event and outlines the Prime Minister’s belief that Sweden would be an "outstanding, vibrant and forward-thinking host", Stockholm Åre 2026 stated.

“It also guarantees that Sweden is willing to cooperate with the Organising Committee, IOC and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to ensure the Games will be successful, inclusive, sustainable, safe and respect the Olympic charter.

“The Stockholm Åre 2026 bid team has today submitted more than 200 warranties and guarantees including among other things, the state security documents, as well as guarantees and undertakings in relation to local councils, venues, hotels, logistics and finance.

“Sweden has presented a flexible and sustainable bid with action across four sites – Stockholm, Åre, Falun and Sigulda, Latvia – in line with the IOC’s Agenda 2020 initiative, built around the concept of ‘use what you have, where you have it’”.

Milan Cortina 2026 confirmed to insidethegames they had also submitted their candidature file to the IOC in Lausanne, the Olympic capital, earlier today.

“The latest guarantees from the Milan-Cortina candidacy at the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games were delivered this morning in Lausanne, as requested by the IOC and on time,” Milan Cortina 2026 stated.

“Thus, the candidacy process involving the Italian Government, the cities of Milan and Cortina, the Regions of Lombardy and Veneto, the Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, the Italian Olympic Committee and the Italian Paralympic Committee was concluded with great satisfaction.”

Milan Cortina 2026 added they had received a letter from the IOC acknowledging the receipt of the required documents to the organisation.

The Government support for both bids with serve a major boost for the IOC.

The IOC had been hit by withdrawals of bids from Calgary in Canada and Sion in Switzerland, following referendums.

Innsbruck also withdrew following a referendum defeat, while a second Austrian effort in Graz was ended when it was announced a petition to hold a local poll had been given approval.

The next major milestone for the two remaining bids will come at SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit next month in Gold Coast.

The bids are expected to give a 15-minute video presentation to the winter International Federations.

This will be their penultimate opportunity to present their plans, with the final chance coming at the IOC Session.

Following the conclusion of IOC Evaluation Commission visits to the two candidates in recent weeks, their report will be published on May 24.

The publication will come one month before the final vote at the IOC Session in Lausanne on June 24.