BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Faced with a ticking clock and doubts both at home and abroad, Barcelona mayor Xavier Trias said Friday that his city won't present a bid for the 2022 Winter Games and instead wait for its chances to improve by 2026.
Trias said in a statement that the winning "conditions didn't exist for 2022" and that his city "must concentrate its efforts and commitment to work to reach the Olympic target by 2026."
The Mediterranean coastal city has been planning a "Barcelona-Pyrenees" candidacy, with the nearby mountains as an Alpine venue.
Time was running out for Barcelona. Before an official bid could have been lodged with the International Olympic Committee by the Nov. 14 deadline, an extraordinary assembly of the Spanish Olympic committee would have also been required to ratify the decision.
Trias had also failed to earn the backing of rival political parties in the Barcelona town hall, while IOC President Thomas Bach had suggested to Trias that Spain needed to increase its winter sports profile.